HfACnCALlSTRUCHON 

DETECTIVES 

MANNING- 


PRACTICAL  INSTRUCTION 
FOR  DETECTIVES 

A  Complete 
Course  in  Secret  Service  Study 


HY 

EMMKKSOX  W.  MANNING 

Manning  National   Detective   Institute 


CHICAGO 
FREDERICK  .1.  DRAKE  &  CO. 


Copyright  1921 
FREDERICK  J.  DRAKE  &  CO. 

Copyright  1916 

By 
EMMERSON  W.   MANNING 


Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America 


PREFACE 

Having  been  connected  for  many  years  with  two 
of  the  largest  and  most  successful  private  detective 
agencies  in  this  country,  both  as  an  operator  and  as 
an  official,  and  having  been  requested  to  outline  briefly 
and  concisely  the  most  modem  and  up-to-date  meth- 
ods employed  by  leading  detectives  and  private  de- 
tective agencies  of  today,  I  shall  confine  myself  in 
these  pages  to  facts  and  a  few  personal  experiences. 
T  will  endeavor  to  show  that  any  person  possessed 
of  average  intelligence,  and  who  will  use  good  com- 
mon sense,  can  become  a  successful  detective,  regard- 
less of  his  present  or  previous  occupation. 

This  country  today  stands  in  need  of  more  and 
better  detectives  than  ever  before  in  its  history,  and 
if  one  be  inclined  to  doubt  this  statement  he  need  only 
pick  up  the  morning  newspaper  of  any  city  of  any 
si/e  and  be  convinced  that  this  is  true.  Hundreds  of 
crimes  of  all  descriptions  are  committed  daily  and 
statistics  show  that  more  than  fifty  per  cent  of  persons 
committing  crimes  go  unmolested  and  unpunished. 
Besides,  there  are  the  thousands  of  employees  on  our 
various  transportation  systems,  in  banks,  stores,  and  in 
mercantile  establishments,  who  are  daily  committing 
thefts  of  various  kinds  from  their  employers  and  whose 
7 


1734778 


8  PRKFACB 

nefarious  operations  are  rarely  uncovered,  when  one 
considers  the  actual  number  of  thefts  committed. 

One  may  wonder  why  such  conditions  exist,  or  why 
so  many  criminals  can  operate  without  detection.  It 
is  because  of  the  lack  of  sufficient  trained  detectives 
to  hunt  down  the  criminals  and  to  ferret  out  the 
crimes. 

It  has  been  said  that  every  criminal,  no  matter  how 
careful  he  may  be  in  his  operations  and  regardless  of 
the  nature  of  his  crime,  will  leave  some  trail  or  clue 
by  which  he  may  be  detected.  All  good  detectives  will 
vouch  for  the  truth  of  this  statement.  For  the  real 
detective  no  case  is  too  complicated  nor  too  difficult. 
More  trained  detectives  are  needed,  and  until  we  have 
them,  undetected  crimes  and  unpunished  criminals 
will  continue  on  the  increase. 

Every  large  city,  every  corporation,  transportation 
company,  mercantile  establishment  and  manufactur- 
ing concern  is  constantly  in  need  of  detective  service. 
There  are  thousands  of  concerns,  also  individuals,  who 
are  ever  on  the  alert  for  the  opportunity  to  employ 
good  detectives.  To  the  young  man  who  may  wish  to 
connect  himself  with  some  reliable  detective  agency 
it  will  be  well  to  keep  in  mind  the  following : 

That  when  making  application  for  such  position  he 
very  likely  will  encounter  such  inquiries  as:  "What 
can  you  do?"  or  "What  do  you  know  about  detective 
work?"  In  order  to  secure  a  position  in  any  line  it 
is  essential  that  one  have  not  only  a  talking  knowledge, 
but  also  a  working  knowledge  of  the  line.  Careful 
study  of  what  I  shall  set  forth  should  enable  any 
ambitious  young  man  not  only  to  secure  a  position  as 
a  private  detective,  but  to  "make  good"  as  well;  and 
if  he  so  desires,  to  start  and  successfully  conduct  a 
private  detective  agency  of  his  own. 


VK  9 

DETECTIVE  AGENCIES 

With  regard  to  starting  a  private  detective  agency, 
laws  pertaining  to  the  granting  of  licenses  to  indi- 
viduals and  companies  to  engage  in  such  business  vary 
in  almost  all  of  our  states.  In  order  to  engage  in  the 
business,  in  some  states  it  is  necessary  to  secure  and 
pay  a  business  licensr.  tin-  rate  per  year  being  approx- 
imately the  same  as  is  paid  by  any  other  business  con- 
cern. In  some  states  licenses  to  engage  in  private 
detective  work  and  to  conduct  private  detective 
agencies  are  granted  only  by  the  courts  of  the  county 
in  which  it  is  proposed  to  establish  the  main  office  or 
headquarters  of  the  agency.  Ability  and  fitness  to 
hold  such  licenses  must  be  established  before  the  court 
granting  them.  This  usually  is  accomplished  by  the 
applicant  having  several  persons  of  responsibility 
vouch  for  his  good  character,  fitness  and  ability.  In 
some  states  bond  must  also  be  furnished  to  the  state 
as  a  guaranty  against  misuse  of  the  privilege  that  such 
license  affords.  Where  such  licenses  must  be  secured  I 
would  advise  that  a  reliable  attorney  be  consulted. 

It  must  not  be  construed  that  every  private  detec- 
tive must  have  a  license  issued  in  his  name  or  secured 
by  him  in  order  to  operate  in  the  state  wherein 
licenses  are  required.  In  such  states  an  agency  must 
necessarily  have  a  license,  but  as  a  rule  agencies  em- 
ploy as  many  operators  as  they  may  require.  Oper- 
ators work  under  the  licenses  of  the  agencies  that 
employ  them.  In  starting  a  detective  agency  it  is  by 
no  means  necessary  to  engage  a  suite  of  elaborate 
offices.  I  have  known  many  successful  agencies  to 
have  been  conducted  from  one  or  two  modest  office 
rooms,  for  which  only  nominal  rentals  were  paid. 

When  starting  an  agency  one  of  the  first  things  to 


10  PREFACE 

be  done  is  to  announce  to  business  concerns,  private 
persons,  and  the  public  in  general  the  fact  that  the 
agency  is  open  for  business,  at  the  same  time  advising 
of  its  location  and  how  it  may  be  communicated  with 
by  telephone  and  telegraph.  Letters  of  announcement 
should  be  mailed  direct  to  prospective  clients  whom 
it  may  be  desired  to  reach. 


CONTEXTS 

CHAPTER  I'\<;K 

I     SHADOWING    1 :{ 

II      BURGLARIKS     '24 

III  IDENTIFICATION  OP  CRIMINALS 38 

IV  FORGERIES    41 

V     CONFESSIONS    53 

VI     MURDER  ('ASKS   55 

VII     GRAFTKRS   .~>7 

VIII     DETECTIVE  WORK  IN  DEPARTMENT  STORKS.  .  <i<> 

1 X     RAILROAD   DETECTIVE    WORK I'l 

X     DETECTIVE  WORK  FOR  STREET  R  \ILWAYS.  . .  76 

i   I  )ETECTIVE  WORK  . .  .  80 


Illegal  Liquor  selling — Anoymous  Letters 
—"Roping"— Detective  Work  in  Ware- 
houses— Express  Companies — Conspiracies 
—Testing  Retail  Business  Establishments 
— Divorce  Cases — Arson 80-94 


Practical  Instruction  for  Detectives 


CHAPTER  I 
SHADOWING 

Shadowing,  or  more  correctly  speaking,  keeping 
under  surveillance  some  person,  building  or  premises, 
is  one  of  the  most  important  branches  of  detective 
work.  I  know  of  many  private  and  other  cases  wherein 
shadow  work  proved  to  be  the  only  means  of  securing 
results.  In  my  experience  in  handling  and  placing 
shadows,  and  in  directing  cases  which  necessitated 
shadow  work,  I  have  found  that  if  one  is  to  have  any 
degree  of  success  at  shadowing,  he  should  in  the  first 
place  be  a  person  not  above  medium  height,  of  medium 
build,  and  preferably  smooth  shaven. 

While  at  work  the  shadow  should  give  out  no  intima- 
tion of  being  interested  in  what  may  be  going  on 
around  him,  although  he  should  be  at  the  same  time 
alert  and  watchful  and  alive  to  everything  that  may 
transpire  near  him.  The  shadow  should  wear  no  con- 
spicuous clothing,  shoes  or  jewelry.  Patience  is  the 
most  important  requisite  to  insure  success  in  this 
branch  of  the  work.  While  at  work  the  shadow  must 
never  for  an  instant  allow  his  attention  to  be  detracted 
from  the  person  or  place  he  may  be  watching. 

To  my  own  discredit,  I  will  relate  how  I  once  shad- 
owed a  woman  for  five  weeks,  hoping  to  be  on  hand 

13 


14  PRACTICAL,  INSTRUCTION  FOR  DETECTIVES 

when  she  would  meet  a  certain  person.  I  was  pur- 
posely occupying  at  the  time  a  room  in  a  house  across 
the  street  from  where  the  woman  lived,  and  from 
which  point  of  vantage  I  was  enabled  to  observe,  un- 
known to  her,  when  she  left  or  entered  the  house.  On 
the  opportune  night,  when  I  should  have  been  watch- 
ful and  wide  awake,  I  found,  no  doubt  because  of  my 
long  vigilance,  that  I  had  slept  for  ten  or  twelve 
minutes.  Later  I  learned  that  the  woman  left  her 
apartments  during  the  few  minutes  that  I  had  slept, 
and,  with  no  intention  on  her  part,  gave  me  the  slip. 

In  these  days  of  fast  trains,  street  cars,  high  pow- 
ered automobiles  and  taxicabs,  which  offer  swift  means 
of  travel,  the  detective  when  shadowing  should  be 
prepared  at  all  times  to  cope  with  such  conditions. 
He  should  ever  keep  in  mind  the  fact  that  his  subject, 
whether  he  or  she  be  a  criminal  or  not,  is  liable  to 
travel  in  accordance  with  what  his  or  her  means  will 
permit.  On  another  page  I  will  take  up  the  matter 
of  shadowing  criminals,  but  will  state  here  that  the 
detective,  unless  he  has  had  experience,  should  not 
undertake  to  shadow  a  person  who  may  have  reason 
to  suspect  being  shadowed.  It  has  been  my  experi- 
ence that  boys  can  accomplish  the  most  when  such 
persons  are  to  be  shadowed. 

I  have  in  mind  a  case  where  it  was  desired  to  have 
shadowed  on  a  certain  day,  a  woman  who  lived  in  an 
exclusive  residential  section  of  a  large  city.  No  man 
could  have  remained  in  the  neighborhood  in  view  of 
this  woman's  home  longer  than  half  an  hour  until  he 
would  have  attracted  the  attention  of  every  person  in 
the  block.  For  this  particular  case  two  young  boys 
were  selected  to  do  the  shadowing.  They  proceeded 
to  a  point  near  the  woman's  home,  and  apparently 
paying  no  attention  to  anyone,  engaged  in  a  game  of 


Ml  A  I 'OWING  15 

marbles.  When  leaving  her  home  the  woman  passed 
within  a  few  feet  of  the  boys  and  of  course  did  not 
suspect  their  purpose.  Three  blocks  distant  the  boys 
boarded  the  same  car  with  her,  and  were  thus  enabled 
throughout  the  day  to  observe  the  woman's  every 
movement,  and  without  having  attracted  her  attention 
at  any  time. 

We  will  suppose  that  it  is  desired  to  keep  under 
surveillance  an  employee  of  a  bank,  office  or  store.  It 
is  advisable  in  such  cases  that  the  person  to  be  shad- 
owed shall  at  no  time  see  the  detective  if  it  can  be  so 
arranged.  In  my  experience  I  have  found  that  under 
most  conditions  the  following  plan  will  be  most  feasi- 
ble for  taking  up  surveillance  of  such  persons.  The 
plan  applies  also  to  any  other  occupants  of  such  places* 
A  detective  other  than  the  one  who  is  to  do  the  shadow- 
ing should  visit  the  place  where  the  person  to  be 
shadowed  is  located.  When  making  such  a  call  the 
detective  may  use  the  pretext  of  having  called  to  solicit 
insurance,  or  he  may  use  any  other  pretext  that  will 
be  suitable  and  which  will  not  arouse  suspicion. 

While  making  such  a  call  the  detective  must  make 
the  best  of  his  opportunity  to  scrutinize  the  subject 
closely,  and  should  make  mental  note  of  any  peculiari- 
ties of  the  subject.  The  color  of  the  subject's  hair 
should  be  noted ;  the  shape  of  his  ears,  nose,  etc.  The 
detective  should  look  for  the  hat  rack,  and  according 
to  the  season  of  the  year  should  endeavor  to  note  the 
kind  of  hat,  overcoat  or  coat  the  subject  will  wear 
when  he  or  she  leaves  the  building.  Immediately  after 
coming  away  from  making  his  call  upon  the  subject, 
the  detective  should  convey  to  the  one  who  will  do 
the  shadowing,  a  complete  detailed  description  of  the 
subject.  Detectives  should  immediately  write  down 
such  descriptions  and  should  never  trust  them  to 


16  PRACTICAL  INSTRUCTION  FOR   DETECTIVES 

memory.  The  reason  for  this  will  become  apparent 
when  the  detective  undertakes  to  pick  out  of  five  or 
six  hundred,  or  possibly  a  thousand  employees,  some 
certain  employee  when  he  or  she  leaves  a  large  factory 
or  office  building. 

The  detective  who  has  seen  and  talked  to  the  subject 
should  remain  near  the  logical  exit  from  the  building 
and  when  the  subject  comes  out  should  designate  him 
or  her  to  the  detective  who  will  do  the  shadowing. 
Subject  will  then  be  shadowed  by  a  person  whom  he 
or  she  has  never  seen,  and  whose  purpose  will  probably 
not  be  suspected  if  noticed.  Should  the  streets  be 
crowded,  the  shadow,  under  ordinary  circumstances, 
may  keep  qutie  close  to  the  subject,  but  must  at  all 
times  be  governed  by  the  number  of  pedestrians  on  the 
streets  at  the  time  as  to  how  close  to  remain  to  the 
subject.  The  subject  must  not  be  lost  sight  of  for 
an  instant,  as  invariably,  in  private  cases,  clients 
expect  to  be  advised  of  every  movement  of  the  person 
being  shadowed.  Therefore,  should  the  subject  stop 
in  the  street  to  talk  to  anyone,  careful  note  should  be 
made  by  the  detective  of  such  persons,  so  as  to  be 
able,  at  the  end  of  the  day's  work,  to  render  a  detailed 
description  of  every  person  with  whom  the  subject 
may  have  talked  or  associated. 

Care  must  be  exercised  by  the  detective  when  sub- 
jects board  street  cars.  The  detective  should  always 
endeavor  to  secure  a  seat  in  back  of,  and  on  the  same 
side  of  the  car  that  the  subject  sits.  For  the  detective 
to  sit  anywhere  in  front  of7  or  opposite  the  subject 
in  a  street  car  or  railway  coach  would  give  the  subject 
an  opportunity  to  study  his  face  and  features,  and 
which  must  be  avoided.  I  know  of  a  great  many  cases, 
however,  when  detectives  boldly  sat  beside  their  sub- 
jects in  street  cars  and  by  so  doing  were  enabled  to 


SHADOW1.NU  17 

read  letters  and  papers  in  the  hands  of  the  subjects, 
and  even  to  engage  them  in  conversation. 

When  shadowing  is  being  done  in  large  cities,  de- 
tectives must  pay  close  attention  and  use  the  best 
judgment  when  subjects  enter  large  office  buildings 
or  department  stores.  As  to  office  buildings  it  is 
usually  desired  to  know  at  what  office  a  subject  may 
call,  and  in  order  to  ascertain  this  to  a  certainty  it  is 
necessary  that  the  detective  enter  the  same  elevator 
with  subject  and  leave  it  at  the  same  floor  that  sub.jr.-t 
does.  While  the  subject  proceeds  to  the  office  he  or 
she  intends  to  visit,  the  detective  may  pretend  to  have 
gotten  off  at  the  wrong  floor,  or  may  busy  himself 
scanning  the  names  on  the  various  office  doors.  In 
cases  of  emergency  it  may  become  necessary  to  make 
a  "fake"  call  at  some  office  in  order  not  to  attract  the 
attention  of  the  subject. 

After  having  made  note  of  the  office  that  the  subject 
has  entered,  the  detective  may  take  up  a  position  on 
the  street  or  the  main  floor  of  the  building  and  await 
the  reappearance  of  the  subject.  Should  there  be  more 
exits  from  the  building  than  the  detective  can  prop- 
erly cover  he  should  endeavor  to  obtain  assistance. 
When  subjects  enter  large  department  stores,  which 
may  have  from  one  to  four  entrances,  it  is  of  course 
essential  that  the  detective  keep  in  close  proximity 
to  the  subject  at  all  times,  whether  a  man  or  a  woman. 
If  the  subject  stops  to  make  a  purchase,  or  to  make 
inquiry  at  some  counter,  the  detective  should  do  like- 
wise at  some  nearby  counter  so  as  not  to  attract  the 
attention  of  floor  walkers  or  sales  clerks.  Often  it 
becomes  necessary  for  the  detective  to  make  purchases, 
but  it  is  better  to  do  this  than  risk  losing  the  subject. 

I  know  of  countless  cases  wherein  it  was  desired  to 
have  women  shadowed  in  order  to  learn  of  their  actions 


18  PRACTICAL.  INSTRUCTION  FOR  DETECTIVES 

during  an  evening,  but  because  of  their  having  visited 
department  stores  in  the  afternoon  detectives  lost 
them  and  were  not  on  hand  to  observe  their  movements 
in  the  evening. 

Occasions  often  arise  when  subjects  visit  theaters 
while  under  surveillance.  Very  often  it  is  desired  to 
know  with  whom  subjects  visit  such  places.  When  a 
subject  purchases  his  or  her  ticket  the  detective  should 
make  it  a  point  to  be  next  in  line  at  the  box  office  so 
as  to  see  or  overhear  the  kind  of  ticket  bought.  If 
successful  in  learning  this,  the  detective  can  ask  for  a 
ticket  in  the  same  section,  but  one  or  two  rows  behind 
the  subject,  or  in  any  other  location  that  will  serve  his 
purpose. 

Should  the  subject  have  previously  secured  his  or 
her  ticket  and  if  it  is  necessary  for  the  detective  to 
ascertain  if  the  subject  is  alone  while  in  the  theater, 
he  may  have  to  purchase  several  tickets  until  he  locates 
the  seat  occupied  by  the  subject.  If  a  man  or  woman 
enters  a  theater  alone,  it  must  not  be  taken  for  granted 
that  he  or  she  is  enjoying  the  performance  alone.  I 
have  known  many  prominent  men  and  women  to  meet 
clandestinely  in  theaters,  although  they  did  not  enter 
or  leave  the  theaters  together.  This  is  usually  brought 
about  by  the  man  purchasing  two  tickets  one  or  two 
days  ahead  and  sending  one  by  mail  or  otherwise  to 
the  woman;  then,  on  the  appointed  night,  they  can 
occupy  adjoining  seats  without  entering  or  leaving  the 
theater  together. 

When  subjects  visit  railway  ticket  offices  the  detec- 
tive can  easily  arrange  to  be  near  enough  to  overhear 
the  point  of  destination,  and  then  if  desired  can  pur- 
chase transportation  to  the  same  point.  In  cases  where 
subjects  board  trains  without  stopping  to  purchase 
tickets,  the  detective,  if  he  cannot  learn  the  subject's 


.SHADOWING  19 

point  of  destination  from  the  gate  man  or  through  any 
other  source,  should  be  governed  by  the  kind  of  train 
the  subject  boards.  If  the  train  be  a  local  one  it 
would  be  advisable  to  purchase  a  ticket  to  the  end  of 
the  run  and  leave  it  at  the  station  where  the  subject 
leaves  it.  If  it  be  a  through  train  and  the  destination 
of  the  subject  is  unknown,  a  ticket  should  be  purchased 
or  fare  paid  to  the  end  of  the  first  division ;  then,  if 
necessary,  to  the  end  of  the  next  division,  and  so  on. 

If  it  be  desired  to  have  a  person  kept  under  sur- 
veillance for  any  length  of  time,  it  is  advisable  that 
the  detective  secure  lodging  near  the  home  of  the  sub- 
ject. From  there  it  will  be  possible  to  observe  the 
subject  going  to  and  leaving  his  or  her  home.  If 
practicable  it  is  always  best  for  the  detective  to  remain 
off  the  streets  and  away  from  public  view. 

In  the  apprehension  of  criminals  of  all  classes,  rec- 
ords of  private  detective  agencies  and  police  depart- 
ments in  this  and  other  countries  show  that  in  most 
cases  more  or  less  shadowing  was  resorted  to  in  order 
to  effect  the  arrest  of  the  criminals,  and  also  to  estab- 
lish their  guilt.  I  know  of  a  good  many  cases  wherein 
careful  and  diligent  shadowing  was  the  only  means 
by  which  "yeggs,"  "hold-up"  men,  pickpockets,  store 
thieves  and  others  were  "caught  in  the  act"  or 
"caught  with  the  goods  on  them,"  which  in  most 
M  essential  in  order  to  insure  convictions. 

Some  of  the  leading  private  detective  agencies  and 
most  police  departments  in  cities  of  any  size,  maintain 
and  keep  up,  to  a  wonderful  degree  of  perfection, 
photograph  galleries  which  are  commonly  known  as* 
"rogues  galleries,"  and  in  which  are  kept  photographs 
of  all  known  criminals,  provided  an  opportunity  has 
been  had  to  photograph  them  or  to  secure  pictures  of 
them.  Along  with  these  photographs  detailed  descrip- 


20  PRACTICAL  INSTRUCTION  FOR  DETECTIVES 

tions  of  the  criminals  are  kept,  also  what  are  known 
as  criminal  histories  which  show  the  date  and  place 
of  any  previous  arrest,  the  nature  of  crime  committed, 
method  of  operating,  term  of  sentence,  etc.  After  a 
criminal  has  once  been  photographed  his  picture  usu- 
ally is  well  circulated  and  retained  indefinitely,  re- 
gardless of  whether  he  remains  in  or  out  of  prison. 

We  will  take  for  instance  a  pickpocket,  who  in  de- 
tective vernacular  is  known  as  a  "dip";  or  a  safe 
blower,  who  in  the  same  vernacular  is  known  as  a 
"yegg."  If  he  has  been  arrested  or  convicted  at  any 
time  for  one  of  these  crimes  his  photograph  very  likely 
appears  shortly  afterwards  in  the  rogues  galleries 
throughout  the  country,  it  is  reproduced  on  reward 
circulars  and  mailed  broadcast  over  the  country,  or  is 
shown  in  police  and  detective  magazines  published  for 
the  purpose.  If,  after  serving  a  prison  term,  the 
criminal  ventures  to  some  large  city,  the  chances  are 
that  he  will  not  be  there  many  days  until  he  is 
"spotted"  by  some  city  or  private  detective,  unless 
he  is  cautious  and  keeps  under  cover. 

As  a  rule,  when  detectives  see  and  recognize  him, 
yet  know  of  no  crime  that  he  may  have  recently  com- 
mitted, or  of  no  charge  that  can  be  brought  against 
him,  they  shadow  him  to  ascertain  where  he  "hangs 
out ' ' ;  then  endeavor  to  have  him  kept  under  constant 
surveillance.  I  might  state  here  that  in  my  opinion 
there  are  very  few  detectives  or  police  chiefs  used  to 
dealing  with  criminals,  who  believe  a  criminal  can  or 
will  reform.  But  regardless  of  this,  it  has  been  found 
by  detectives  long  ago  to  be  a  good  plan  to  keep  track 
of  the  time  of  release  of  criminals  from  prison,  and 
then  to  watch  them  closely  until  they  may  commit 
another  crime. 

I  know  of  a  good  many  cases  where  by  this  method 


si  i.  \no\vi\c;  21 

detectives  were  enabled  to  catch  their  men  in  the  act 
of  committing  a  crime,  or  it'  they  were  not  on  hand 
or  nearby  when  the  crime  was  committed,  as  a  result 
of  their  shadowing  they  knew  just  about  where  the 
criminal  was  at  a  given  time  and  who  would  have 
lieen  likely  to  commit  such  a  crime;  therefore  they 
whom  to  look  for.  A  good  detective  will  make 
a  study  of  the  records  of  criminals  and  their  methods 
of  operating.  It  is  a  well  known  fact  that  every  crim- 
inal has  a  distinctive  manner  of  operating,  and  these 
distinctive  features  should  be  studied  by  detectives. 
Detectives  should  also  make  it  a  point  to  know,  as  far 
>ible,  what  known  criminals  are  in  their  city  at 
any  time.  Then  if  a  store,  warehouse,  or  residence  is 
burglarized,  if  the  picking  of  pockets  becomes  preva- 
lent, or  if  a  safe  in  a  bank  or  office  is  blown,  the  wide 
awake  detective  can  know  from  the  nature  of  the 
crime,  and  the  method  employed,  whom  to  confine  his 
attentions  to. 

If  for  instance  a  safe  has  been  dynamited,  if  feasi- 
ble, arrangements  should  immediately  be  made  to 
have  all  known  safe  blowers  in  the  city  shadowed.  In 
this  way  criminals  have  often  been  caught  in  the  act 
of  either  dividing  their  loot,  or  in  disposing  of  it. 
il  and  systematic  shadowing  has  also  been  the 
means  of  bringing  to  light  the  identity  of  many  a 
thief  who,  until  found  out,  enjoyed  the  utmost  confi- 
dence of  his  employers. 

I  i  -call  the  case  of  a  young  man  of  good  family  who 

trusted  employee  of  a  certain  large  business 

concern.     Sums  of  money  ranging  from  ten  to  fifty 

dollars  disappeared  weekly  from  the  firm's  cash,  the 

thefts  having  covered  a  period  of  about  three  months 

the  identity  of  the  thief  was  established.    Four 

s  had  access  to  the  firm's  cash,  and  all  were  in 


22  PRACTICAL  INSTRUCTION  FOR  DETECTIVES 

turn  shadowed  from  the  time  they  left  their  respective 
homes  in  the  morning  until  they  retired  at  night.  This 
plan  of  systematic  shadowing  developed  the  fact  that 
the  young  man  in  question  was  the  only  one  of  the 
four  possible  guilty  ones  who  was  not  leading  an  ex- 
emplary life,  and  in  addition  it  was  found  that  once 
a  week  he  visited  and  made  deposits  at  a  certain  bank 
while  away  from  the  office  during  the  noon  hour.  In- 
vestigation at  the  bank  developed  that  the  young  man 
was  depositing  each  week  more  than  the  amount  of 
his  weekly  salary. 

Upon  being  shown  detailed  reports  of  his  every 
movement  for  a  period  covering  four  weeks,  and  upon 
being  questioned  regarding  his  deposits  at  the  bank, 
needless  to  say  there  was  no  difficulty  in  obtaining  a 
confession  from  this  young  man. 

I  was  once  called  upon  to  place  under  surveillance 
for  two  weeks  a  young  man  who  lived  in  an  exclusive 
residential  section  of  a  large  city.  It  was  not  feasible 
to  have  the  detective  obtain  a  room  in  the  neighbor- 
hood or  "cover"  of  any  kind,  and  to  have  had  the 
detective  stand  on  the  street  in  this  particular  neigh- 
borhood would  no  doubt  have  exposed  his  purpose  in 
a  few  hours.  I  made  arrangements  for  the  services 
of  a  uniformed  messenger  boy,  provided  him  with  a 
few  novels  to  read,  then  had  him  sit  under  a  tree  on 
a  lawn  not  far  from  the  subject's  home.  In  this  way 
when  the  subject  would  leave  his  home  to  go  into  the 
city,  the  messenger  boy  would  signal  to  the  detective 
who  was  stationed  some  three  blocks  distant  at  a 
logical  car  station,  and  where  the  detective's  presence 
did  not  attract  attention.  The  messenger  boy's  real 
purpose  was  not  suspected,  and  this  surveillance  was 
continued  successfully  for  a  period  of  two  weeks. 

When  conditions  are  similar  to  those  in  the  case 


SHADOVVI.N-;  23 

just  mentioned  I  frequently  have  provided  the  detec- 
tive with  a  pair  of  field  glasses  which  would  be  used 
from  a  room  that  the  detective  would  rent. 

I  have  handled  many  cases  wherein  it  was  desired 
to  keep  under  surveillance  persons  who  visited  the 
city  each  day,  but  who  lived  in  the  suburbs,  or  in 
thinly  settled  outlying  sections  of  the  city.  In  such 
cases  two  dt-teotives  were  used,  one  to  remain  out  in 
the  suburbs  to  observe  the  car  or  train  that  the  sub- 
ject would  board,  after  which  this  detective  would 
telephone  to  the  other  one,  stationed  in  the  city,  the 
number  of  the  oar  or  train  upon  which  the  subject 
would  arrive  in  the  city.  In  this  way  the  subject  can 
easily  be  picked  up  and  his  movements  covered  during 
the  day.  Shadow  work  properly  directed  and  prop- 
erly executed  never  fails  to  bring  good  results. 


CHAPTER  II 
BURGLAEIES 

Private  detectives  are  frequently  called  upon  to 
investigate  burglaries  of  banks,  offices,  stores  and  resi- 
dences. If  the  burglary  has  been  committed  in  the 
city  or  in  the  country,  or  in  a  large  or  small  town,  the 
detective  who  investigates  the  case  should  proceed  to 
the  place  as  soon  as  circumstances  will  permit.  If 
the  burglary  presents  the  appearance  of  having  been 
perpetrated  by  outside  parties,  a  thorough  investiga- 
tion should  be  made  and  nothing  overlooked.  I  know 
of  dozens  of  cases  of  burglary  in  small  towns  in  which 
no  results  were  secured  because  of  the  fact  that  only 
perfunctory  investigations  were  made,  and  these  were 
not  conducted  along  proper  lines.  In  cases  of  bur- 
glary, especially  where  safes  or  vaults  have  been 
dynamited  or  wrecked  with  nitroglycerine,  the  detec- 
tive should  conduct  an  investigation  along  the  follow- 
ing lines : 

Notes  should  be  taken  and  a  record  made  of  the 
name  of  the  bank,  store,  firm  or  individual  suffering 
the  loss;  the  date  and  hour  that  the  crime  was  com- 
mitted; date  and  hour  discovered;  by  whom  discov- 
ered ;  and  a  descriptive  list  should  be  made  of  all 
articles  known  to  have  been  stolen.  If  the  theft  con- 
sisted of  cash,  the  respective  amounts  of  gold,  silver 
or  currency  should  be  ascertained.  If  possible,  secure 
the  numbers  of  any  missing  bills.  If  papers,  checks 
24 


BUR«;i..\l:iKs  26 

or  negotiable  notes  or  .securities  have  been  stolen, 
hanks  or  other  places  where  they  are  liable  to  be 
>  ashed  should  be  notified  promptly. 

A  careful  investigation  should  be  made  as  to  how 
•  lit ranee  was  gained  to  the  building.  If  a  safe  or 
vault  has  heen  blown  or  opened,  note  should  be  made 
of  the  name  of  its  manufacturer,  whether  or  not  the 
safe  or  vault  was  old  or  new,  whether  equipped  with 
double  or  single  doors,  whether  opened  by  key  or  com- 
bination, and  from  whom  it  was  purchased.  Note 
should  be  made  as  to  the  kind  of  explosive  used,  or  if 
fouls  were  used.  If  holes  were  drilled  it  is  important 
to  ascertain  the  exact  si/.e,  and  if  possible  the  kind  of 
drill  used.  If  other  tools  were  used  the  detective 
should  endeavor  to  establish  their  nature,  which  usu- 
ally can  he  done  from  the  marks  left  by  their  use. 

Professional  burglars  nowadays  do  not  travel  from 
place  to  place  with  tools  on  their  persons,  because 
suspicion  might  be  aroused  or  arrest  invited  for  carry- 
ing them.  They  often  purchase  or  steal  their  tools 
locally  at  some  hardware  store  or  blacksmith's  shop 
a  few  hours  before  the  time  set  for  the  burglary.  The 
detective  should  endeavor  to  establish,  at  least  to  his 
own  satisfaction,  whether  the  burglary  is  the  work 
of  a  professional  or  an  amateur;  also  if  any  known 
burglars  or  "yeggs"  live  in  the  vicinity  where  the 
crime  was  committed.  If  so,  their  most  recent  move- 
ments should  be  traced  and  checked  up.  If  possible, 
names  should  be  secured  of  any  persons  who  may  have 
been  seen  loitering  in  the  vicinity.  If  the  names  of 
such  persons  cannot  be  learned,  detailed  descriptions 
should  be  secured. 

If  the  burglary  has  been  committed  in  some  small 
town,  the  hotel  registers  should  be  looked  over  and  any 
doubtful  persons  investigated.  Finger  and  foot  prints 


26  PRACTICAL  INSTRUCTION  FOR  DETECTIVES 

and  measurements  should  not  be  overlooked,  providing 
any  are  found  at  the  time  of  the  burglary.  Photo- 
graphs should  be  made  of  finger  prints  and  measure- 
ments made  of  foot  prints.  Professional  burglars,  or 
persons  representing  them,  disguised  as  umbrella 
menders,  peddlers  or  beggars,  often  visit  and  look  over 
the  place  it  is  proposed  to  burglarize.  Any  such  per- 
sons should  be  given  consideration  by  the  detective  in 
the  course  of  his  investigation.  Proprietors  of  nearby 
garages  and  livery  stables  and  their  employees  should 
be  seen  and  interviewed ;  also  ticket  agents  and  section 
hands  on  any  nearby  railroads.  Conductors  and  crews 
of  passenger  and  freight  trains  should  be  interviewed ; 
also  crews  of  street  cars.  If  any  known  criminals 
likely  to  have  committed  such  crime  are  believed  to 
have  been  in  the  vicinity,  their  photographs  should  be 
shown  to  nearby  residents  and  others.  Should  a  pho- 
tograph be  identified,  the  detective  will  have  some- 
thing upon  which  to  work. 

When  taking  descriptions  of  criminals  or  of  sus- 
pects, the  following  details  should  be  embodied,  if 
possible  to  secure  them :  Nationality ;  age,  height,  and 
weight ;  color  of  hair,  color  of  eyes ;  build ;  complexion, 
whether  smooth  shaven,  moustache  or  beard;  moles, 
marks  or  scars ;  kind  of  clothing  worn,  including  hat 
and  shoes ;  whether  or  not  the  person  walks  or  stands 
erect  or  stooped ;  any  jewelry  or  lodge  emblems  worn, 
and  whether  he  has  the  appearance  of  being  a  business 
person,  a  clerk,  a  mechanic,  or  a  laborer. 

In  cases  of  thefts  of  jewelry,  silverware,  clothing, 
etc.,  from  private  residences  the  detective  should  first 
endeavor  to  establish  to  his  own  satisfaction  whether 
or  not  the  theft  has  been  committed  by  an  outside 
party,  or  by  some  member  of  the  household.  If  it  is 
believed  that  some  member  of  the  household  is  respon- 


BURGLARIES  27 

sible,  a  servant  for  instance,  such  persons  should  be 
questioned  closely  regarding  their  movements,  when 
they  last  saw  or  handled  the  stolen  articles,  if  they 
knew  of  the  existence  or  location  of  them,  what  they 
were  doing  and  where  they  were  about  the  time  the 
theft  must  necessarily  have  been  committed,  etc.  A 
descriptive  list  of  the  stolen  articles  should  be  made 
up.  and  if  the  same  consists  of  jewelry,  silverware, 
cut  glass  or  clothing,  pawnbrokers  and  proprietors 
of  places  where  such  articles  would  likely  be  disposed 
of  should  be  seen  and  questioned.  A  descriptive  list 
of  the  stolen  articles  should  be  left  with  the  propri- 
etors of  such  places  and  arrangements  made  to  be 
notified  promptly  in  case  any  of  the  stolen  articles  are 
offered  for  sale  or  appraisal. 

I  recall  having  investigated  for  a  bank  a  case  which 
was  at  first  believed  to  have  been  one  of  burglary 
from  the  outside.  The  bank  had  in  its  employ  a  well 
educated  foreigner,  who  was  in  charge  of  the  bank's 
foreign  department.  In  order  to  conduct  the  business 
of  this  department  of  the  bank,  he  was  permitted  the 
MM  of  five  hundred  dollars  in  cash,  and  for  which 
amount  he  was  of  course  always  responsible  to  the 
bank.  The  "burglary"  was  discovered  about  7:00 
A.  M.  on  a  Sunday  by  the  colored  janitor  when  he 
eame  on  duty  to  elean  the  banking  rooms.  The  "bur- 
glary" having  hem  committed  in  the  foreign  depart- 
ment, the  foreign  manager  was  among  the  first  to  be 
called  to  the  bank.  When  he  arrived  he  recalled  that 
he  had  neglected  the  night  before  to  lock  into  the  vault 
a  tin  box  in  which  he  kept  the  five  hundred  dollars 
extended  him  by  the  bank.  This  box  seemed  to  have 
been  broken  open  during  the  night  and  was  found 
lying  on  the  floor  empty  by  the  janitor. 

I  was  called  into  the  case  the  following  day,  and  a 


28  PRACTICAL  INSTRUCTION  FOR  DETECTIVES 

few  minutes  after  arriving  at  the  bank  the  fereign 
manager  called  me  aside  and  told  me  he  suspected  the 
colored  janitor,  and  that  I  would  do  well  to  confine 
my  attention  to  him.  He,  however,  could  give  me  no 
plausible  reason  for  suspecting  the  janitor,  which  fact 
caused  me  to  become  suspicious  of  the  foreign  man- 
ager. I  then  began  an  investigation  as  to  how  the 
"burglar"  had  gained  entrance  to  the  premises,  and 
found  that  a  large  transom  over  a  side  door  had  been 
forced  in,  seemingly  from  the  outside ;  also  a  wire  fly 
screen  covering  the  transom  space  had  been  forced 
loose,  which  would  have  permitted  any  ordinary  sized 
person  to  then  have  gained  entrance. . 

The  transom  was  held  rigid  and  in  place  by  a  heavy 
metal  side  fixture,  and  I  still  recall  distinctly  having 
wondered  at  the  time  how  a  person  could  have  pos- 
sibly exerted  sufficient  pressure  or  force  against  it 
from  the  outside  to  bend  double  the  heavy  metal  side 
fixture,  and  to  have  accomplished  it  without  attracting 
the  attention  of  police  or  other  persons.  After  study- 
ing the  situation  from  all  angles,  I  obtained  a  ladder 
and  examined  closely  the  ledge  over  which  the  "bur- 
glar" was  believed  to  have  climbed.  Between  the 
transom  and  the  outer  edge  of  the  transom  frame, 
where  the  fly  screen  was  nailed,  was  a  space  perhaps 
six  inches  in  width,  and  which  space  was  thickly  cov- 
ered with  dust.  I  examined  it  closely  but  failed  to 
find  any  finger  imprints,  or  any  other  marks  that 
would  necessarily  have  been  made  by  a  person  climb- 
ing through  the  transom. 

I  became  convinced  that  the  foreign  manager  was 
guilty.  He  was  the  last  person  to  leave  the  bank  on 
the  night  of  the  robbery.  It  was  quite  plain  to  me 
then  that  before  leaving  the  bank  he  broke  open  the 
tin  box,  appropriated  its  contents,  then  pulled  down 


29 

tli<-  transom  from  the  inside  and  loosened  the  fly 
screen  to  make  it  appear  that  a  burglar  had  entered 
from  the  outside.  I  brought  my  discovery  to  the  at- 
tention of  the  officials  of  the  bank,  who  agreed  with 
nit-  that  no  burglar  had  entered  from  the  outside.  I 
then  took  the  foreign  manager  in  hand  and  recounted 
to  him  how  I  believed  that  the  entire  matter  had  been 
planned  and  executed,  that  the  same  was  all  very 
clever  with  but  one  exception — that  being  that  he  had 
neglected  to  take  into  consideration  the  coatiiur  of 
dust  on  the  lerlgi-.  I  told  him.  in  the  presence  of  three 
officials  of  the  bank,  to  turn  over  the  stolen  money, 
whirli  he  did,  but  he  was  not  prosecuted  and  the  case 
was  <:iven  no  publicity.  In  this,  as  in  practically  all 
it  will  be  seen  that  the  criminal,  no  matter  how 
carefully  he  plans  his  crime,  usually  leaves  some  clue 
by  which  he  can  be  detected,  and  which  clues,  as  a 
rule,  can  be  developed  by  thorough  investigation  on 
the  part  of  the  detective. 

By  permission  of  the  Current  Literature  Publishing 
CoMipany,  we  quote  from  the  May  UM5  number  of 
"Current  Opinion"  and  article  dealing  with  the 
nique  of  crime  according  to  Inspector  Cornelius  P. 
Cahalane,  a  noted  instructor  of  detectives,  appointed 
to  the  metropolitan  police  force  of  NYw  York: 

"Practically  every  burglary  is  prearranged  and  the 
details  planned.  Hurglars  guard  against  the  ordinary 
precautions  which  they  think  a  live  policeman  will 
take  to  prevent  their  crimes  or  to  capture  them.  Do 
not  imagine  that  every  burglar  or  thief  wears  a  peak 
cap,  box  coat,  sweater,  striped  trousers  or  bull-nosed 
shoes,  so  typical  of  stage  burglars.  They  realize  that 
to  cirrus  in  such  a  manner  would  arouse  immediate 
suspicion,  and,  accordingly,  dress  and  carry  themselves 
in  a  manner  least  likely  to  attract  attention.  They  do 


30  PRACTICAL  INSTRUCTION  FOR  DETECTIVES 

not,  as  most  persons  fancy,  carry  burglary  tools  on 
their  persons  at  all  times.  They  know  that  it  is  not 
only  a  violation  of  the  law,  but  that  it  is  circumstan- 
tial evidence  as  well.  Hence  burglars  carry  tools  no 
longer  than  is  absolutely  necessary.  Sometimes  they 
hide  their  tools  near  the  scene  of  the  contemplated 
burglary.  If  they  have  tools  in  their  possession  and 
think  they  are  going  to  be  searched,  they  will  try  to 
hide  them  or  throw  them  away.  Tools  are  carried 
frequently  in  musical  instrument  cases. 

"There  are  many  different  types  of  burglars,  who 
resort  to  various  means  in  plying  their  calling.  The 
burglars  most  dangerous  to  society  are  those  known 
as  'Dutch  house  men.'  They  are  the  most  desperate. 
They  always  work  heavily  armed  and  to  accomplish 
their  purpose  or  to  avoid  capture  will  take  life  under 
the  slightest  provocation.  They  usually  operate  in  an 
inhabited  dwelling,  and  to  gain  entrance,  secrete  them- 
selves in  some  part  of  the  building  or  grounds  until 
they  think  the  occupants  have  retired ;  then,  if  neces- 
sary, they  make  their  way  to  a  roof,  fire-escape  or 
porch,  and  get  in  by  prying  open  a  skylight  or  jimmy- 
ing a  window  sash. 

"As  a  rule,  householders  fasten  windows  leading  to 
fire-escapes  or  porches,  but  are  careless  about  the 
other  windows.  'Dutch  house  men'  know  this  failing 
and  often  take  advantage  of  it.  They  fasten  one  end 
of  a  rope  (which  one  of  them  may  have  carried  wound 
around  his  body)  to  a  chimney  on  the  roof  and  drop 
the  other  end  over  the  ledge.  One  of  them  will  lower 
himself  to  the  desired  window,  open  it  and  enter. 
They  generally  seek  the  place  where  it  is  most  likely 
that  valuables  have  been  left  before  the  owner  retired, 
such  as  the  tops  of  dressers  or  the  pockets  of  clothing. 
In  going  from  room  to  room,  they  usually  place  some 


BURGUARIKS  31 

obstruction,  a  table  or  a  chair,  in  such  a  position  that 
if  the  occupant  should  awaken  and  attempt  to  leave 
the  room,  he  would  trip  over  the  object  and  make 
enough  noise  to  warn  the  burglar  that  his  presence 
had  become  known,  rnless  they  are  sure  that  no 
alarm  has  been  given,  they  will  seldom  leave  by  way 
of  the  street;  usually  they  secrete  themselves  on  the 
roof  or  in  the  back  yard  and  remain  until  there  is 
an  opportunity  to  escape. 

"Flat  thieves  are  not  as  desperate  as  the  ordinary 
run  of  burglars,  but  they  are  burglars  too,  and  they 
manage  to  steal  considerable  property.  As  a  rule 
they  will  not  enter  an  apartment  while  anyone  is  at 
home.  They  profit  by  the  knowledge  that  housekeepers 
generally  hide  their  money  and  valuables  in  a  nook 
where  they  think  a  thief  will  be  least  likely  to  look — 
under  rugs,  legs  of  tables,  under  mattresses  and  beds, 
in  sewing  machine  drawers,  and  the  like. 

"A  flat  thief  requires  only  about  five  minutes  in  an 
ordinary  flat,  and  when  he  is  through  it  looks  as 
though  an  earthquake  had  shaken  the  building.  He 
starts  by  pushing  the  furniture  to  one  end  of  the 
room.  He  turns  the  rugs  over,  empties  the  contents 
of  bureau  drawers  into  the  middle  of  the  floor,  where 
they  are  examined,  throws  mattresses  to  the  floor,  cuts 
them  open  if  he  has  not  already  discovered  the  hiding 
place,  turns  vases  and  bric-a-brac  upside  down,  and,  in 
this  way,  has  every  part  of  the  flat  searched  in  a  short 
time.  Flat  thieves  are  usually  young  men  between 
the  ages  of  sixteen  and  thirty  years. 

"They  gain  entrance  by  ringing  the  vestibule  bells, 
and,  if  no  response  is  made,  they  assume  that  no  one 
is  at  home,  and  enter  the  hallway  and  proceed  to  the 
apartment  selected.  If  the  door  is  locked  they  either 
use  a  false  key  or  jimmy  it  open.  Or,  they  may  watch 


32  PRACTICAL  INSTRUCTION  FOR  DETECTIVES 

persons  leaving  their  apartment,  and  enter  during 
their  short  absence.  If  questioned,  they  try  to  repre- 
sent themselves  as  peddlers,  agents,  inspectors  of 
telephones,  gas,  water  or  electricity,  or  mechanics. 
They  usually  bundle  together  the  proceeds  of  a  theft 
and  carry  it  to  the  street,  passing  through  the  halls 
with  an  air  of  bravado,  so  as  not  to  excite  suspicion. 
They  generally  work  in  pairs;  one  standing  in  the 
hallway  to  warn  his  partner  of  the  return  of  the 
tenant,  and,  in  case  the  thief  is  pursued,  to  trip  the 
person  in  pursuit  or  to  divert  him  in  some  other  way. 
They  seldom  leave  a  house  together,  but  usually  meet 
at  a  distance  from  the  scene  to  dispose  of  the  property 
and  divide  the  proceeds. 

"Many  flat  thieves  work  by  hiring  a  room  or  rooms 
in  a  residential  section  of  the  city  and  as  near  the 
roof  as  possible,  particularly  where  the  roofs  in  the 
vicinity  are  of  about  the  same  height.  They  use 
scuttles  and  fire-escapes  as  a  means  of  getting  into 
buildings  and  convey  the  plunder  over  the  roofs  to 
their  rooms.  In  this  way  they  avoid  the  danger  of 
being  detected  in  the  street. 

"More  ambitious  than  the  flat  thief,  but  in  some- 
thing of  the  same  class,  is  the  loft  burglar.  Loft 
burglars  are  the  most  feared  by  merchants,  for  when 
they  make  a  haul  it  is  usually  a  big  one,  amounting 
to  thousands  of  dollars.  They  are  necessarily  the 
brainiest  of  burglars  for  the  reason  that  their  work 
requires  more  and  better  planning.  Plans  are  often 
made  weeks  in  advance. 

"A  loft  is  selected  after  a  study  of  the  location  and 
the  quantity  and  quality  of  the  stock  carried  in  it. 
Weeks  are  then  spent  in  becoming  familiar  with  the 
habits  of  persons  who  might  be  in  a  position  to  thwart 
or  discover  them,  particularly  the  watchmen  and 


BURGLARIES  88 

patrolmen  on  post,  and  the  customary  time  of  opening 
and  closing  the  building,  noting  the  person  to  whom 
this  duty  is  entrusted. 

"A  Saturday  afternoon  or  night  i?  generally  se- 
lected for  the  entry.  Sometimes  it  is  necessary  to 
gain  entrance  through  a  building  three  or  four  doom 
away  and  clamber  back  over  the  roofs.  When  the 
loft  selected  is  reached  they  do  not  hesitate  to  cut 
through  a  wall  to  get  one  of  their  number  in  it;  if 
necessary  they  will  drill  through  the  floor  from  the 
loft  below  or  through  the  ceiling  from  the  one  above, 
lowering  the  first  man  down  with  a  rope.  The  door 
of  the  loft  is  then  opened  from  the  inside  if  the  cir- 
cumstances warrant  it.  The  loot  is  carefully  selected 
from  the  most  valuable  stock.  Packing  cases  are  con- 
structed from  material  lying  about,  filled,  and  nailed 
shut. 

"They  are  now  confronted  with  the  most  difficult 
task,  that  of  getting  the  packing  cases  from  the  build- 
ing. The  property  is  seldom  moved  at  night.  They 
fear  that  the  appearance  of  a  vehicle  at  an  unusual 
hour  in  a  section  of  the  city  where  lofts  are  located 
would  arouse  suspicion.  Instead,  if  as  a  result  of  their 
previous  study,  they  know  that  the  loft  will  be  opened 
at  7 :30  A.  M.,  a  vehicle  will  be  brought  to  the  front 
of  the  building  at  about  7 :20  A.  M.,  the  door  opened 
from  the  inside  by  one  of  the  gang  dressed  as  a  por- 
ter, and  in  the  most  bold  and  daring  manner  the  cases 
will  be  loaded  on  the  wagon.  One  of  the  gang  may 
even  engage  the  patrolman  on  post  in  conversation, 
possibly  within  sight  of  their  activities.  The  bogus 
porters,  if  the  circumstances  necessitate  it,  will  go 
back  into  the  building  and  escape  by  way  of  the  roof 
or  through  an  adjoining  building. 

' '  Safe  burglars  know  as  a  rule  the  particular  make 


34  PRACTICAL,   INSTRUCTION  FOR  DETECTIVES 

of  each  safe  on  which  they  intend  to  operate.  Like 
loft  burglars  they  plan  far  in  advance  and  come  pre- 
pared to  break  through  any  part  of  a  building  in 
order  to  get  to  the  safe.  They  have  been  known,  when 
working  in  an  exposed  position,  to  make  a  pasteboard 
safe,  paint  it  to  imitate  the  original,  shove  the  genuine 
safe  into  an  inner  room  and  leave  the  substitute  in  its 
place.  Others  do  not  resort  to  this  subterfuge,  but 
simply  bodily  shove  the  safe  into  a  position  where 
they  can  not  be  observed  from  the  street  and  begin 
operations.  They  try  not  to  use  explosives.  The 
easiest  way,  the  combination,  is  tried  first.  If  this 
fails,  the  weakest  part,  the  bottom  or  back,  is  tried. 
The  ordinary  safe  is  turned  upside  down  and  the 
bottom  or  back  is  cut  out  with  a  tool  they  call  a  '  can 
opener.'.  If  the  bottom  or  back  resists,  they  drill  a 
hole  near  the  combinations  and  try  to  disturb  the 
tumblers  sufficiently  to  turn  the  lock.  As  a  last  resort 
a  hole  is  drilled  and  charged  with  explosive.  To 
deaden  the  report  the  safe  is  wrapped  with  material 
found  on  the  premises  or  with  blankets  brought  along. 
A  lookout  is  usually  stationed  on  the  outside  to  signal 
in  the  event  of  peril.  Safe  burglars,  like  burglars  who 
break  windows  or  side  lights,  wait  for  the  rumble  of 
a  passing  vehicle  to  deaden  the  sound  of  an  explosion. 

"Store  burglars  generally  gain  entrance  through  a 
rear  or  side  window.  They  travel  in  gangs  of  two  or 
three,  one  always  on  guard,  and  steal  from  the  till, 
cash  register  or  small  safes.  They,  too,  have  their 
work  planned  in  advance,  and  know  just  what  to  do 
when  they  enter.  The  loot  is  seldom  removed  through 
the  front  of  the  building;  it  is  carried  through  the 
rear  yards  or  over  the  roofs  of  an  adjoining  building 
and  thence  to  the  street. 

"If  the  booty  is  too  bulky  to  transport  on  their  per- 


BURGLARIES  35 

sons,  a  push  cart  is  hired  or  stolen  for  the  purpose,  or 
a  milk  or  baker's  wagon  is  pressed  into  service,  some- 
times with  the  consent  of  the  driver,  and  the  goods 
moved  early  in  the  morning,  during  the  hours  when 
milkmen  and  bakers  are  making  their  deliveries,  so  as 
not  to  excite  suspicion.  Burglars  who  break  store 
windows  and  side  lights  work  in  pairs  and  are  very 
tricky.  Their  outfit  in  most  instances  consists  of  a 
long  piece  of  heavy  wire  and  a  heavy  piece  of  cloth, 
such  as  part  of  a  bed  comforter,  which  they  carry 
wrapped  about  their  bodies. 

' '  A  store  is  selected  which  displays  articles  of  some 
value  in  its  windows.  The  habits  of  the  man  on  posf 
are  learned,  and  at  an  opportune  moment  during  his 
absence  they  will  throw  a  padded  brick  or  iron  through 
the  window  or  side  light,  having  first  placed  the  com- 
forter on  the  stoop  or  walk  to  catch  the  broken  glass 
and  deaden  the  sound.  Or,  they  may  use  a  glass 
cutter  to  remove  a  section  of  the  window.  This  step 
accomplished,  they  dart  into  a  nearby  hallway  and 
wait  to  see  if  the  breaking  of  the  glass  has  attracted 
attention.  If  they  find  it  has  not,  operations  are  re- 
sumed and  the  contents  of  the  show-window  extracted 
by  moans  of  a  stiff  win-,  the  tip  of  which  has  been 
bent  into  a  hook.  The  store  selected  is  often  covered 
by  the  crooks  for  hours,  sometimes  from  an  adjoining 
precinct  or  post,  awaiting  a  suitable  opportunity. 

"The  sharpest  and  most  successful  burglars  of  late 
have  been  foreigners,  some  of  whom  can  not  speak 
English.  Their  favorite  method  is  to  select  a  resi- 
dence along  some  street-car  route,  enter  it  during  the 
daytime,  if  possible,  and  remain  secreted  in  areaways, 
back  yards  or  on  roofs  until  night,  then  force  an  en- 
trance through  a  window,  door  or  roof  scuttle  when 
the  occupants  have  retired.  After  securing  the  plun- 


36  PRACTICAL  INSTRUCTION  FOR  DETECTIVES 

der  they  open  the  front  door  and  wait  inside  until  a 
car  passes.  Then  they  run  out  and  board  a  moving 
ear,  watching  meanwhile  to  see  if  they  are  pursued. 
Sometimes  they  ride  almost  to  the  city  line  before 
getting  off.  They  are  afraid  that  if  they  pass  a 
brightly  lighted  street  corner  they  will  be  observed 
and  for  this  reason  they  use  the  street  cars. 

"If  there  were  no  receivers  of  stolen  goods  there 
would  be  but  little  burglary  of  these  or  any  other 
kinds:  A  thief  will  not  steal  unless  he  knows  that 
he  can  make  some  profitable  disposition  of  his  haul. 
It  is  comparatively  easy  to  dispose  of  jewelry,  but  a 
thief  must  know  positively  where  he  can  immediately 
dispose  of  bulky  property  that  he  cannot  readily  con- 
ceal. Usually  such  stuff  is  immediately  sold  to  un- 
scrupulous dealers  who  carry  goods  of  the  same  kind 
in  stock ;  for  instance,  a  quantity  of  stolen  cloth  may 
be  sold  to  a  dishonest  dry-goods  merchant.  In  some 
eases,  however,  a  store  or  flat  is  rented  in  advance  of 
a  burglary  or  theft  and  the  loot  stored  in  it.  The 
receivers  are  then  visited  in  turn  by  the  thieves,  shown 
samples,  and  bids  are  requested.  In  this  way  they 
dispose  of  the  goods  more  profitably. 

"A  careful  thief  destroys,  as  soon  as  possible,  all 
marks  of  identification,  but  if  he  has  not  done  so,  the 
receiver  takes  that  precaution  as  soon  as  the  stolen 
property  comes  into  his  possession.  Merchandise 
handled  under  unusual  conditions  should  immediately 
suggest  'receivers'  to  you.  For  instance,  if  you  saw 
a  large  quantity  of  silk  being  taken  into  a  small  retail 
store,  or  saw  the  delivery  being  made  from  a  hand- 
truck  or  from  a  wagon  not  ordinarily  used  for  such 
deliveries,  or  by  persons  who,  from  their  appearance 
and  manner  of  handling  the  merchandise,  did  not 
seem  to  be  engaged  in  the  business ;  or  if  you  observed 


BURGLARIES  37 

boxes  of  shoes  being  taken  into  a  barber  shop,  or  a 
great  quantity  of  food  being  delivered  to  a  dwelling, 
it  should  arouse  your  suspicion. 

"Remember  that  persons  engaged  in  a  legitimate 
business  are  constantly  devising  ways  and  means  of 
advertising  themselves.  They  want  everyone  to  know 
that  they  are  engaged  in  a  certain  business,  and 
located  at  a  certain  place,  and  invite  inspection  of 
their  stock.  They  do  not  paint  their  windows  to  hide 
the  contents  of  their  store,  or  arrange  the  interior  so 
that  the  stock  will  not  be  in  plain  sight,  or  deny  pros- 
pective purchasers  the  privilege  of  examining  their 
stock." 


CHAPTER  III 
IDENTIFICATION  OF  CRIMINALS 

In  all  up-to-date  police  and  detective  bureaus  the 
Bertillon  System  is  now  being  used  whenever  prac- 
ticable for  the  identification  of  criminals.  I  consider 
it  important  that  detectives  be  thoroughly  familiar 
with  the  system,  as  it  is  a  wonderfully  accurate  system 
of  identification  and  quite  easy  for  anyone  to  become 
familiar  with,  as  I  will  show. 

The  Bertillon  System  of  identification  was  unknown 
previous  to  the  year  1880,  in  which  year  it  was  adopted 
in  France  as  a  standard  by  the  police  department  of 
Paris,  where  it  was  introduced  by  Alphonse  Bertillon, 
its  founder.  Since  then  it  has  been  adopted  by  police 
departments  of  practically  all  large  cities  in  the 
United  States,  Canada  and  Europe.  For  the  identifi- 
cation of  criminals  the  Bertillon  System  depends  upon 
accurate  measurements  of  various  parts  of  the  human 
body,  having  to  do  especially  with  the  bones,  which 
in  adults  never  change.  The  parts  measured  are  head, 
left  ear,  left  foot,  left  middle  finger,  extended  left 
forearm,  outstretched  arms,  the  trunk  and  height. 

In  the  Bertillon  System  the  metric  measurement  is 
used  exclusively.  In  such  measurement  we  have  the 
meter,  which  equals  39.37  inches;  the  centimeter, 
which  is  the  one-hundredth  part  of  a  meter  and  which 
equals  .3937  of  an  inch;  and  the  millimeter,  which 
is  the  one-thousandth  part  of  a  meter  and  which  equals 
.03937  of  an  inch. 


IDENTIFICATION  OF  CRIMINALS  39 

In  order  to  take  the  measurements  of  a  criminal  in 
accordance  with  the  Bertillon  System  it  is  of  course 
necessary  to  have  and  use  a  metric  measure;  one  can 
be  purchased  almost  anywhere  in  the  United  States 
for  fifty  cents.  So  as  to  make  the  matter  of  meas- 
urement more  clear,  I  might  state  that  under  our  own 
system  of  measurement  we  measure  by  yards,  feet  and 
inches,  half  inches,  quarter  inches,  etc.  Under  the 
metric  system  we  measure  by  meters,  centimeters  and 
millimeters.  It  will  readily  be  seen  that  with  the 
metric  system  it  is  possible  to  measure  accurately  the 
thousandth  part  of  an  inch. 

We  will  take  for  instance  a  criminal  whose  height  is 
five  feet  and  one  inch.  In  Bertillon  or  metric  meas- 
urement his  height  would  be  one  meter  and  fifty-five 
centimeters ;  written  thus :  1  M.  55.  0.  If  a  criminal's 
height  be,  for  instance,  five  feet  seven  and  a  half 
inches,  it  would  be,  according  to  Bertillon  or  metric 
measurement,  one  meter,  71  centimeters,  and  five  milli- 
meters, written  thus:  1  M.  71.  5.  A  criminal  whose 
height  is  five  feet  and  7/8  inches  would  be  shown  in 
Hertillon  in  the  following  manner,  with  other  meas- 
urements added : 

'.74.0     88.1      19.0     16.0      14.5     6.0     2«.l      11.8        8.9     45.4 
HOT        OA       TR      HL,     HW      CW     RB     LF    LMP    LLF    FA 

These  abbreviations  signify,  in  the  order  shown, 
that  this  criminal's  height  is  one  meter,  sixty-seven 
centimeters  and  six  millimeters ;  outer  arms  one  meter, 
seventy-four  centimeters;  trunk  eighty-eight  centi- 
meters and  one  millimeter ;  head  length  nineteen  centi- 
meters ;  head  width,  sixteen  centimeters ;  cheek  width 
fourteen  centimeters  and  five  millimeters;  right  ear 
six  centimeters;  left  foot  twenty-six  centimeters  and 
one  millimeter;  left  middle  finger  eleven  centimeters 


40  PRACTICAL  INSTRUCTION  FOR  DETECTIVES 

and  eight  millimeters;  left  little  finger  eight  centi- 
meters and  nine  millimeters ;  forearm  forty-five  centi- 
meters and  four  millimeters.  The  foregoing  abbrevia- 
tions have  been  adopted  for  convenience  upon  the 
backs  of  criminal  photographs  and  where  space  usually 
is  limited. 


CHAPTER  IV 
FORGBBIB8 

Although  not  generally  known  it  is  a  fact  that 
hanks,  business  concerns,  and  the  public  in  general 
probably  suffer  a  greater  loss  through  the  operations 
of  forgers  and  bogus  check  operators  than  through 
any  other  form  of  crimes  perpetrated  against  them. 
There  are  confined  today  in  the  penal  institutions  of 
this  country,  thousands  of  persons  convicted  and  found 
guilty  of  these  offenses,  and  yet  I  would  venture  to 
state  that  not  over  forty  per  cent  of  this  class  of  crim- 
inal is  ever  apprehended. 

There  is  hardly  a  morning  anywhere  but  what  one 
may  pick  up  a  newspaper  and  read  an  account  of 
how  some  clever  forger  succeeded  in  victimizing  a 
bank,  hotel  or  merchant.  With  this  large  number  of 
forgers  at  large  and  free  to  operate  when,  and  prac- 
lically  wherever  they  please,  we  have  additional  proof 
that  there  are  today  by  no  means  sufficient  trained 
detectives  to  run  them  down.  The  methods  most 
commonly  practiced  by  forgers,  both  professional  and 
amateur,  are  quite  well  known,  yet  I  believe  it  will  be 
well  for  me  to  dwell  at  some  length  on  the  subject. 

In  a  general  way  I  mijjht  state  that  the  methods 
of  all  forgers  are  much  the  same ;  at  any  rate  such 
has  been  my  experience  with  this  class  of  criminal. 
Their  aim  in  most  eases,  before  presenting  for  pay- 
ment a  check  to  which  a  signature  has  been  forged, 
41 


42  PRACTICAL  INSTRUCTION  FOR  DETECTIVES 

or  an  endorsement,  is  to  ascertain  if  the  firm  or  per- 
son against  whom  the  check  is  to  be  drawn  has  deposits 
sufficient  to  cover  the  check.  After  satisfying  himself 
on  this  point  the  forger  proceeds  to  fill  in  the  check 
and  to  affix  thereto  a  signature  or  an  endorsement 
purported  to  be  genuine. 

After  having  selected  the  person  whose  signature 
or  endorsement  is  to  be  forged,  the  forger  must  next 
be  familiar  with  the  handwriting  of  that  person.  It 
is  comparatively  an  easy  matter  for  anyone  so  in- 
clined to  secure  an  original,  facsimile  or  tracing  of  the 
average  business  or  professional  man's  signature. 
After  providing  himself  thus  the  forger  sets  about 
writing  a  check  that  will  be  so  near  like  the  genuine 
that  it  will  not  be  likely  to  be  questioned  when  pre- 
sented at  the  bank  The  forger  usually  makes  it  a 
point  to  present  his  check  at  a  time  when  the  cashier 
or  paying  teller  is  busiest,  and  when  the  forgery  will 
most  likely  pass  unnoticed. 

In  my  experience  I  have  found  that  employers  very 
often  are  careless  in  leaving  their  private  check  books, 
and  sometimes  signed  checks,  lying  around  the  office 
where  a  dishonest  employee  or  other  person  may  have 
easy  access  to  same.  Very  often  cancelled  checks  fall 
into  the  hands  of  forgers  who  promptly  take  advan- 
tage of  the  handwritings  for  their  ulterior  purposes. 
There  are  dozens  of  ways  by  which  a  forger  may 
secure  them.  Workmen  who  receive  their  salaries 
from  their  employers  in  the  form  of  checks  often  are 
tempted  to  make  use  of  the  signature  to  forge  others 
and  have  them  cashed. 

Under  this  class  of  criminal  we  have  also  to  contend 
with  what  are  known  as  bogus  check  operators,  who. 
when  writing  and  passing  checks,  use  fictitious  names 
of  banks  and  persons ;  also  the  worthless  check  opera- 


FOKGKHIKS  43 

tor,  who,  after  gaining  the  confidence  of  his  employer, 
or  of  some  bank,  writes  and  has  cashed  a  check  in 
excess  of  funds  he  may  have  on  deposit.  The  detective 
must  not  confuse  forged  checks  with  bogus  cheeks 
The  former  is  a  check  upon  which  is  written  what  pur- 
ports to  be  the  genuine  signature  or  endorsement  of 
person  and  which  signature  or  endorsement  was 
not  written  by,  nor  authorized  by  that  person.  The 
latter  is  one  upon  which  is  written  the  name  of  some 
bank  which  does  not  exist,  or  which  may  be  drawn 
on  a  bank  which  does  exist  but  at  which  bank  the 
drawer  of  the  check  has  no  account.  There  are  also 
many  other  forms  of  checks  passed  which  come  under 
the  classification  of  bogus  checks. 

Thousands  of  hotel  keepers  and  merchants  are  vic- 
tim i/ed  yearly  through  cashing  forged,  bogus  and 
worthless  checks  presented  by  oily  tongued  swindlers 
who  tell  plausible  stories  as  to  how  they  happen  to  be 
out  of  funds,  etc-.  In  order  to  be  successful  in  handling 
forgery  cases  it  is  essential  that  the  detective  be  a  good 
judge  of  human  nature  and  of  handwriting.  The 
more  technical  knowledge  he  may  have  of  handwriting 
the  better. 

If  the  detective  is  called  upon  to  investigate,  for 
instance,  a  case  wherein  a  bank  has  been  defrauded 
through  the  operations  of  a  forger,  he  should  endeavor 
first  to  see  the  forged  check.  A  record  should  be  made 
as  to  the  kind  of  blank  form  the  check  was  drawn  on, 
whether  or  not  sam.-  was  drawn  upon  an  ordinary 
counter  cheek  form,  if  the  form  was  taken  from  a  pri- 
vate printed  check  book,  or  from  a  pocket  check  book. 
Record  should  be  made  of  the  date,  the  number,  on 
what  bank  drawn  on,  in  whose  favor  drawn,  the 
amount,  how  signed,  and  how  endorsed.  Such  records 
should  include  whether  or  not  the  check  or  any  part 


44  PRACTICAL,  INSTRUCTION  FOR  DETECTIVES 

of  it  was  filled  in  with  pen  and  ink,  with  pencil,  or 
with  a  typewriter. 

For  the  detective 's  future  reference  a  tracing  should 
be  made  of  all  handwritings  on  the  check,  especially 
of  any  known  to  have  been  written  by  the  forger.  By 
far  the  best  plan  is  to  have  both  sides  of  the  cheek 
photographed.  Until  such  time  as  it  may  be  needed 
as  evidence  in  court,  a  forged  check  should  never  be 
taken  away  from  a  bank,  carried  in  the  pocket,  or 
handled  any  more  than  may  be  absolutely  necessary. 
The  reasons  are  that  in  taking  such  a  check  from  a 
bank  it  may  become  lost,  and  by  carrying  it  or  han- 
dling it  the  writings  may  become  effaced.  No  chances 
should  be  taken  in  losing  or  destroying  the  most  im- 
portant evidence  with  which  to  prosecute  the  forger 
in  case  he  is  apprehended.  The  detective  should  place 
his  initials  or  some  other  mark  upon  the  original  check 
so  that  he  can  positively  identify  it  later  if  called 
upon  to  do  so. 

At  the  bank  the  detective  should  secure  as  thorough 
a  description  as  possible  of  the  person  for  whom  the 
check  was  cashed,  also  should  make  note  of  any  state- 
ments made  by  the  forger  as  to  where  he  came  from, 
what  firm  he  claimed  to  represent,  or  by  whom  em- 
ployed, etc.  Hotel  registers  should  be  examined 
closely  for  any  registration  in  handwriting  identical 
with  that  in  the  forged  check.  In  order  to  establish 
the  identity  of  the  forger  if  not  known,  or  to  learn 
the  direction  in  which  he  may  have  gone,  the  detective 
may  proceed  along  the  lines  outlined  with  regard  to 
burglary  cases. 

I  have  handled  hundreds  of  forgery  cases  and  will 
say  that  I  never  found  the  forger  a  criminal  difficult 
to  apprehend.  There  are  two  good  reasons  why  this 
should  be  so;  the  first  is  that  the  forger,  as  a  rule, 


FORGERIES  45 

must  present  himself  in  person  at  the  bank  or  other 
place  to  secure  the  money  on  his  check,  and  by  so 
doing  enables  the  detective  to  secure  a  good  descrip- 
tion of  him,  how  he  was  dressed,  etc. ;  the  second  reason 
is  that  the  forger  when  filling  in  his  check,  or  by  en- 
dorsing it,  must  necessarily  leave  behind  one  of  the 
very  best  clues  for  the  detection  of  any  criminal,  that 
being  his  handwriting. 

In  fully  ninety  per  cent  of  forgery  cases  I  have 
handled  I  have  found  that  the  person  whose  signature 
was  forged  could  tell,  after  being  questioned,  who  was 
responsible  for  the  forgery,  and  I  will  show  you  that 
the  process  is  very  simple  and  easy.  I  have  in  mind  a 
good  many  cases  each  of  which  I  cleared  up  in  less 
than  half  an  hour  after  arriving  upon  the  ground.  My 
plan  was  to  first  secure  the  best  description  obtainable 
of  the  forger,  then  a  specimen  of  his  handwriting, 
after  which  I  would  see  or  call  upon  the  person  whose 
signature  was  forged.  To  that  person  I  would  submit 
the  description  and  the  handwriting,  and,  as  pre- 
viously stated,  ninety  per  cent  of  them  were  able  to 
tell  very  quickly  which  employee,  relative,  friend, 
acquaintance,  or  enemy  was  responsible. 

After  the  detective  has  learned  the  identity  of  a 
forger  but  cannot  locate  him,  he  should  keep*  in  touch, 
under  some  good  pretext,  with  the  forger's  parents, 
wife,  sweetheart,  sister,  brother  or  other  relative  or 
friend.  The  forger  will  communicate  with  his  sweet- 
heart, friends  or  relatives  sooner  or  later ;  it  is  human 
nature  and  I  have  never  seen  it  fail.  When  the  detec- 
tive has  succeeded  in  causing  the  arrest  of  a  forger,  or 
of  a  suspected  forger,  he  should  endeavor  to  secure  a 
confession  from  him.  I  have  secured  many  confessions 
from  forgers  by  saying  to  them  in  a  friendly  way  that 
the  best  way  for  them  to  prove  that  they  had  nothing 


46     PRACTICAL,  INSTRUCTION  FOR  DETECTIVES 

to  do  with  the  forgery  with  which  they  were  charged, 
was  to  write  a  specimen  of  the  forged  check.  It  is 
really  surprising  how  many  professional  forgers  will 
allow  themselves  to  be  led  into  this  simple  ruse. 

While  the  forger's  mind  is  laboring  under  the  strain 
of  being  under  arrest,  and  seeing  possible  conviction 
ahead,  he  is  eager  to  take  advantage  of  what  he  thinks 
is  an  opportunity  to  prove  that  he  did  not  write  the 
forgery  and  will  rely  upon  his  ability  to  disguise  his 
handwriting  sufficiently  to  mislead  the  detective.  An- 
other reason  why  he  will  comply  with  such  a  request 
ia  that  he  will  fear  his  refusal  to  give  a  specimen  of 
his  handwriting  will  be  taken  as  an  evidence  of  guilt. 
As  a  matter  of  fact  I  have  found  no  persons  in  my 
experience  who  could  successfully  disguise  their  hand- 
writing with  their  minds  under  any  kind  of  strain. 
The  forger  can  therefore  be  easily  led  into  hanging 
himself  with  his  own  rope,  as  it  were. 

After  securing  such  handwriting  the  detective 
should  take  out  his  facsimile,  or  photographic  copy 
of  the  forged  check,  and  if  he  finds  the  handwritings 
identical,  he  should  point  out  the  similarities  to  the 
forger.  There  should  be  no  difficulty  experienced  in 
securing  a  full  confession,  and  in  addition  the  detec- 
tive will  have  in  his  possession  the  handwriting  of  the 
forger,  which,  I  neglected  to  state,  should  be  secured 
in  the  presence  of  one  or  two  reliable  witnesses,  so 
that  the  confession  and  handwritings  can  be  substan- 
tiated in  court  if  necessary.  It  goes  without  saying 
that  efforts  should  be  made  by  the  detective  to  secure 
such  handwritings  and  the  confession  as  soon  after  the 
forger's  arrest  as  possible.  Should  the  forger  or  sus- 
pect have  an  opportunity  to  confer  with  an  attorney 
before  this  is  done,  the  chances  are  that  no  handwrit- 
ings or  confession  will  be  secured. 


FORGERIES  47 

Great  care  must  be  exercised  by  the  detective  when 
it  is  left  to  him  to  have  warrants  issued  for  criminals 
of  this  class.  It  often  happens  that  one  person  will 
forge  a  signature  or  endorsement  to  a  check,  then  dele- 
gate a  confederate  or  other  person  to  present  the  check 
for  payment.  Under  these  circumstances  the  pre- 
senter of  such  a  check  could  hardly  be  convicted  of 
forgery,  but  he  could  be  convicted  of  passing  the 
forged  check  and  of  obtaining  money  thereon.  The 
point  to  be  borne  is  mind  by  the  detective  in  such 
cases  is,  that  in  order  to  convict  a  person  of  forgery, 
it  is  necessary  to  prove  the  handwriting,  or  produce 
one  or  more  witnesses  who  actually  saw  the  signature 
or  endorsement  being  written.  Warrants  should  be 
issued  accordingly ;  the  best  kind  of  warrant  to  be 
gotten  out  in  sueh  cases  being  one  in  which  the  offender 
is  charged  with  passing  the  forged  check  and  with 
obtaining  the  money. 

I  have  known  quite  a  few  clever  forgers,  who  with 
the  aid  of  good  attorneys,  succeeded  in  beating  their 
cases  simply  because  the  warrants  for  their  arrest 
were  not  properly  gottett  out,  and  which  resulted  in 
improper  indictments  being  returned  against  them.  I 
have  known  dozens  of  bungling  detectives  and  officers 
to  swear  out  warrants  charging  persons  with  forgery 
when,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  the  forgery  could  not  be 
proven,  but  a  charge  of  passing  a  forged  check  and 
obtaining  money  thereon  could  have  been  made  and 
proven.  In  the  cases  I  have  in  mind  the  offenders 
went  scott  free  simply  because  the  wrong  charge  was 
brought  against  them,  and  because  they  were  given 
advantage  of  the  law  itself  to  escape  punishment. 

As  a  whole  I  consider  the  forger  one  of  the  most 
dangerous  of  criminals  to  be  at  large,  but  as  stated, 
one  of  the  easiest  to  apprehend  when  proper  methods 


48  PRACTICAL,  INSTRUCTION  FOR  DETECTIVES 

are  applied.  I  believe  I  will  do  well  to  recount  here 
what  I  considered,  when  it  was  first  submitted  to  me, 
my  most  difficult  forgery  case,  but  which  in  the  end 
proved  quite  easy  to  unravel  and  clear  up.  One  day 
it  was  discovered  by  a  bank  in  a  small  town  in  the 
"West  that  during  the  preceding  seven  months  it 
cashed  for  some  unknown  person  eleven  checks  to 
which  were  forged  the  signature  and  endorsements  of 
one  of  the  bank's  customers.  These  forgeries  were 
discovered  when  the  customer  came  into  the  town 
from  his  ranch  to  have  his  pass  book  balanced.  Upon 
being  handed  his  cancelled  checks  he  discovered  the 
forgeries. 

In  this  particular  case  no  person  connected  with  the 
bank  could  recall  in  the  slightest  degree  for  whom, 
nor  for  what  kind  of  person  they  cashed  the  checks. 
Prom  the  fact  that  the  customer  called  at  the  bank 
so  rarely  they  did  not  know  him  by  sight.  Inasmuch 
as  this  customer  lived  far  out  from  the  city  on  a  ranch, 
he  could  throw  no  light  on  who  forged  his  signature 
to  obtain  the  money  from  the  bank,  which,  as  I  recall 
it,  amounted  to  several  hundred  dollars. 

In  looking  over  the  forgeries  and  the  dates  upon 
which  they  were  paid,  I  found  that  they  had  been 
presented  at  the  bank  and  were  paid,  on  an  average, 
of  one  every  three  weeks.  Outside  of  the  forger's 
handwriting,  there  was  absolutely  no  clue  upon  which 
to  work.  After  giving  the  case  several  hours'  thought, 
I  came  to  the  conclusion  that  the  case,  to  my  way  of 
thinking  at  that  time,  could  be  cleared  up  along  only 
one  line,  that  being  that  I  find  the  person  through  his 
handwriting. 

The  town  in  question  was  a  county  seat  of  about 
five  thousand  population.  I  had  concluded  also  that 
the  culprit,  from  the  fact  of  his  forgeries  covering  a 


FORGERIES  48 

period  of  seven  months,  must  be  a  resident,  or  at  least 
an  habitue  of  the  town.  I  found  myself  figuring  how 
long  it  would  take  to  enable  me  to  see  a  specimen  of 
the  handwriting  of  every  man  in  the  town.  This  being 
my  plan  I  started  to  work  along  the  line  of  least  re- 
sistance, going  first  to  the  court  house,  where  I  secured 
permission  to  look  over  any  and  all  kinds  of  records, 
in  the  hope  of  finding  somewhere  in  the  town  a  speci- 
men of  handwriting  identical  with  that  of  the  forger 
in  the  case.  Near  the  close  of  the  second  day  my 
search  was  rewarded  through  my  finding  upon  the 
payrolls  of  a  contractor  a  signature,  every  letter  of 
which  was  identical  with  the  same  letter  in  the  for- 
thc  forger  being  at  that  tim<-  in  the  employ  of 
the  contractor.  The  same  characteristics  and  pecu- 
liarities being  evident  in  both  handwritings,  I  lost  no 
time  in  effecting  arrangements  for  having  the  suspect 
brought  before  the  town  marshal  and  me. 

We  handed  the  man  pen  and  ink  and  check  forms, 
and  upon  his  signifying  his  willingness  to  write  for 
us  specimens  of  any  olin-ks  we  desired,  we  of  course 
had  him  write  copies  of  the  forgeries.  His  hand- 
writing proved  to  be  identical  to  the  smallest  detail, 
with  the  handwriting  in  the  forgeries,  and  upon  being 
shown  both  writings  he  made  a  confession  on  the  spot. 
Later  he  pleaded  guilty  to  the  charge  of  forgery  and 
was  sentenced  to  serve  two  years  in  state  prison. 

A  favorite  method  of  offenders  in  defrauding  banks, 
and  which  scheme  is  worked  somewhere  every  business 
day  of  the  year,  is  to  visit  a  bank  and  open  an  account 
by  depositing  a  bogus  or  worthless  check,  and  which 
transaction  is  usually  handled  by  the  receiving  teller. 
As  a  rule  a  pass  book  will  be  given  to  the  offender  in 
the  regular  way,  but  no  money  will  be  paid  out  by  the 
bank  until  it  ascertains  if  the  check  is  good,  and  which, 


50  PRACTICAL,  INSTRUCTION  FOR   DETECTIVES 

by  ordinary  methods,  usually  requires  two  days'  time, 
and  longer  if  the  check  be  drawn  on  a  far  distant  bank. 
On  the  day  following  the  opening  of  the  account  the 
offender  will  visit  the  bank  and  on  this  occasion  ap- 
proaches the  paying  teller.  Of  course,  he  is  not  known 
to  the  paying  teller,  but  he  produces  his  pass  book  and 
shows  the  paying  teller  that  he  has  on  deposit  say  one 
hundred  dollars.  He  asks  to  withdraw  fifty.  Hun- 
dreds of  paying  tellers  have  been  caught  off  their 
guard  with  this  game  by  neglecting  to  look  up  the 
party's  account,  and  in  an  unguarded  moment  take 
it  for  granted  that  the  party's  account  is  O.  K. 

Stolen  pass  books  are  an  extensive  source  of  loss  to 
banks.  Throughout  the  country  thousands  of  foreign- 
ers have  savings  accounts  in  banks.  With  most  of 
them  it  is  customary  to  keep  the  bank  books  in  their 
trunks  or  rooms  where  they  can  easily  be  stolen  by  one 
of  their  countrymen,  who  takes  the  book  to  the  bank, 
impersonates  the  owner  and  obtains  the  cash. 

To  illustrate  the  importance  that  the  detective  must 
give  to  the  small  details  when  making  an  investigation, 
I  was  once  called  upon  to  investigate  a  forgery  that 
had  been  perpetrated  upon  a  bank  in  a  town  of  about 
twenty  thousand  population.  In  this  case  a  middle 
aged  woman  presented  a  check  and  obtained  eighty 
dollars  thereon,  the  check  later  proving  to  be  a  for- 
gery. I  questioned  the  paying  teller  for  an  hour,  but 
he  seemed  unable  to  assist  me  and  could  say  nothing 
about  the  woman  except  that  she  was  of  middle  age 
and  pleasant  appearing.  This,  however,  was  very 
vague,  as  there  were  in  the  town  probably  five  hundred 
women  who  were  pleasant  appearing  and  of  middle 
age.  I  persisted  in  having  the  paying  teller  revert  his 
mind  to  the  occasion  of  the  woman's  visit  to  the  bank, 
and  he  finally  recalled  that  the  woman  wore  a  pin 


FORGERIES  51 

bearing  the  emblem  of  a  secret  society  of  some  kind — 
he  could  not  recall  which.  I  immediately  set  to  work, 
and  later  in  the  day  submitted  to  the  paying  teller  a 
dozen  or  more  lodge  emblems,  when  he  selected  the 
emblem  of  the  Order  of  the  Eastern  Star  as  being 
identical  with  what  the  woman  wore.  The  foregoing 
consumed  one  day,  and  the  next  morning  I  set  about 
asi-iTtuining  what  member  flf  the  Order  of  the  East?™ 
Star  in  that  town  or  vicinity  would  have  been  likely 
to  pass  the  forged  check.  From  the  secretary  of  the 
order  I  obtained  a  list  of  the  members,  then  decided 
to  take  the  secretary  into  my  confidence  and  asked 
him  who  of  the  members  he  thought  would  have 
been  most  likely  to  commit  this  crime.  His  suspicions 
rested  upon  a  woman  who  lived  in  a  village  just  out- 
side of  the  town,  and  from  all  he  told  me  I  became 
convinced  she  was  the  woman  wanted. 

The  next  morning,  accompanied  by  the  paying 
teller.  I  called  at  the  woman's  home  under  a  pretext, 
and  when  the  paying  teller  promptly  identified  her  as 
being  the  woman  for  whom  he  cashed  the  check. 

Many  large  sums  of  money  have  been  obtained 
through  forgery.  The  most  remarkable  case  ever 
brought  to  my  attention  was  one  that  involved 
$30,000.00.  A  man  forty  years  of  age  had  been  made 
the  business  agent  of  a  wealthy  lady  who  was  some 
eighty  years  old.  This  man  was  also  named  in  the 
lady 's  will  to  be  the  executor  of  her  estate  after  her 
death.  It  happened,  however,  that  this  man  died 
first  and  among  his  papers  and  effects  was  found  a 
note  for  $30,000.00  purporting  to  have  been  signed 
by  the  woman  in  favor  of  this  man.  When  claim 
was  made  upon  her  for  the  amount  of  this  note  she 
promptly  denied  having  ever  signed  such  a  note,  and 
pronounced  the  note  a  forgery,  and  so  the  note  was 


62  PRACTICAL,  INSTRUCTION  FOR  DETECTIVES 

never  paid.  In  this  particular  case  it  occurred  to 
me  that  the  man  no  doubt  believed  that  the  woman 
for  whom  he  was  business  agent  would,  in  all  prob- 
ability, die  first,  and  when  it  would  have  been  an 
easy  matter  for  him,  as  executor,  to  have  taken  pos- 
session of  the  amount  of  the  note.  Because  of  the 
prominence  of  all  parties  concerned  in  this  case,  it 
was  never  given  publicity. 

Raised  checks  are  an  extensive  source  of  loss  and 
annoyance  to  banks  and  individuals.  Many  checks, 
after  being  written,  mailed  or  sent,  fall  into  the  hands 
of  persons  who  make  a  practice  of  "raising"  the 
amounts  for  which  the  checks  were  originally  intended 
and  written,  and  then  pass  or  have  them  cashed. 
For  instance,  a  check  written  for  ten  dollars  will  be 
raised  to  one  hundred  dollars,  or  to  whatever  amount 
the  raiser  may  believe  it  can  be  passed  without  arous- 
ing the  suspicions  of  the  bank,  merchant  or  individual 
upon  whom  it  is  to  be  passed.  I  have  seen  many 
raised  checks,  the  favorite  method  of  the  latter  day 
check  raiser  being  to  remove  from  the  check  with 
chemicals  the  figures  and  wording  of  the  amounts, 
and  then  to  insert  a  greater  amount.  The  original 
signature  of  the  drawer  of  the  check  is  of  course  left 
intact.  It  often  requires  the  aid  of  a  magnifying 
glass  to  discover  the  erasure  or  removal  of  the  orig- 
inal writing.  When  necessary  the  name  of  the  payee 
is  also  removed  and  another  name  inserted. 


CHAPTER  V 
CONFESSIONS 

As  in  other  criminal  cases,  when  confessions  are 
obtained  from  forgers,  it  is  a  good  plan  to  take  the 
sain  iii  writing  in  the  presence  of  reliable  witnesses, 
and  to  have  the  confession  signed  by  the  criminal. 
However,  great  care  must  be  exuvised  when  taking 
Mient  or  confession  from  a  criminal,  and  even 
though  the  statement  or  confession  is  given  volun- 
tarily ami  willingly  by  the  criminal,  it  should  be 
embodied  in  the  statement  in  writing  that  the  same 
is  so  given,  that  it  is  given  without  any  threats  or 
eoen-ion  havinir  been  made  or  resorted  to,  and  that 
it  is  given  without  promise  of  reward  or  compensa- 
tion. Such  a  statement  should  also  show  that  it  has 
been  explained  to  the  person  before  signing  it  that 
he  or  she  understands  that  the  same  may  be  used 
against  him  or  her  later. 

!•'<  r  the  average  case  I  would  suggest  a  statement 
worded  about  as  follows,  or  in  accordance  with  the 
kimi  of  «ase  it  is  to  apply  to: 

"I.  Jone  Doe,  wish  to  state  that  on  June 
:-:<ith.  1!H4.  I  entered  the  First  National  Bank 
and  obtained  $50.00  cash  upon  a  cheek  which 
I  knew  to  be  a  forgery,  and  to  which  check 
I  Mgned  the  name  of  John  Smith,  without 
Mr.  Smith's  permission  or  authorization,  and 
which  check  I  represented  to  the  bank  as 

n 


54  PRACTICAL,  INSTRUCTION  FOR  DETECTIVES 

having  been  signed  by  John  Smith.    I  was 
arrested  today  by  Detective  John   Brown, 
who  has  not  threatened  nor  coerced  me  in 
any  way,  neither  have  I  been  promised  any 
reward,  compensation  or  leniency  for  mak- 
ing this  statement,  and  I  understand  this 
statement  may  be  used  against  me." 
Having  persons  make  affidavit  to  statements  of  this 
nature  does  not  strengthen  them  in  any  way,  since 
the  law  permits  persons  to  repudiate  affidavits  with- 
out constituting  perjury,  so  long  as  the  affidavit  or 
statement  has  not  been  given  in  any  judicial  pro- 
ceeding. 

In  connection  with  the  investigation  of  forgery 
cases  I  might  add  that  it  is  a  good  plan  to  have  the 
person  whose  signature  was  forged  make  an  affidavit 
that  the  check  or  other  paper  repudiated  by  him, 
was  not  signed  by  him  and  not  authorized  by  him. 
I  once  had  a  case  of  forgery  wherein  it  was  neglected 
to  do  this.  When  the  offender  was  arrested  he  proved 
to  be  a  close  friend  of  the  man  whose  signature  was 
forged.  Then  to  save  his  friend  from  prosecution 
the  man  went  to  the  bank  and  stated  that  the  check 
which  he  had  at  first  repudiated  was  his  own  signed 
check. 


CHAPTER  VI 
MURDER  CASES 

In  my  experience  with  murder  cases  I  would  divide 
such  crimes  into  three  classes,  namely:  The  cases 
wherein  a  murder  has  been  carefully  planned  or  pre- 
meditated; the  cases  where  a  murder  is  committed 
suddenly  or  on  the  spur  of  the  moment ;  and  those 
that  are  a  result  of  some  person  intending  only  to 
do  bodily  harm  to  another  but  wherein  such  injuries 
later  cause  death.  One  could  hardly  lay  down  any 
set  rule  to  be  applied  by  the  detective  for  the  proper 
investigation  of  murder  cases.  There  are,  however, 
several  primary  things  that  should  be  kept  in  mind 
by  the  detective,  and  which  I  have  found  will  apply 
in  most  murder  cases.  The  first  and  most  important 
thing  to  be  looked  into  is  the  motive.  Every  effort 
should  be  made  by  the  detective  to  establish  the  mo- 
tive, and  if  successful  he  will,  as  a  rule,  have  little 
difficulty  in  ascertaining  the  identity  of  the  murderer. 
After  the  murderer's  identity  is  known  the  detec- 
tive has  something  definite  upon  which  to  work. 

The  detective  should  satisfy  himself  as  to  which 
of  the  three  classes  previously  named  the  crime  would 
come  under.  It  should  bo  borne  in  mind  that  mur- 
ders as  a  rule,  are  not  committed  for  pastime  or 
amusement.  I  would  venture  to  state  that  seventy- 
five  per  cent  of  murders  committed  come  under  the 
first,  named  class.  Often  they  are  very  carefully 
55 


56  PRACTICAL  INSTRUCTION  FOR  DETECTIVES 

planned  and  the  plans  just  as  carefully  executed. 
The  detective  should  ascertain,  by  making  inquiry 
or  otherwise,  who  would  profit  by  the  death  of  the 
person  murdered.  It  should  be  ascertained  if  rob- 
bery was  the  direct  motive. 

Hundreds  of  persons  have  been  murdered  by  slow 
poisoning.  In  such  cases  the  detective  must  look  for 
the  relative  who  would  benefit  by  the  death  of  the 
person  murdered.  Persons  very  often  are  murdered 
so  that  the  insurance  they  may  carry  can  be  claimed. 
It  should  be  ascertained  if  the  person  murdered  had 
any  quarrels  with  business  associates,  relatives, 
friends,  or  other  persons,  or  if  the  enmity  of  any 
person  in  particular  was  incurred  at  any  time.  If 
a  weapon  was  used  to  cause  death,  it  should  be  as- 
certained from  the  nature  of  the  wound  what  kind 
of  weapon  was  used,  and  if  the  weapon  prove  to  be 
a  pistol,  its  calibre,  make,  etc.,  should  be  gone  into. 
Regardless  of  the  kind  of  weapon  used,  if  its  nature 
can  be  established,  the  detective  should  endeavor  to 
learn  where  it  was  secured,  who  was  known  to  be 
in  possession  of,  or  known  to  have  carried  such  a 
weapon.  In  murder  cases  every  clue,  no  matter  how 
small  or  vague,  should  be  run  out  by  the  detective 
The  smallest  clues  often  develop  the  best  results.  As 
the  circumstances  in  every  murder  case  will  differ, 
the  detective  must  use  his  own  judgment  as  to  how 
to  proceed.  Application  of  good  judgment  and  good 
common  sense  methods  have  never  failed  to  bring 
about  results. 


CHAPTER  VII 
GRAFTERS 

A  class  of  criminals  who  are,  in  my  opinion,  the 
1 1 i«ist  obnoxious  of  any  the  detective  may  have  to  deal 
with,  and  of  which  class  only  a  small  percentage  are 
•  l(  t.cted  and  convicted  are  the  grafters.  I  will  yen- 
ture  to  state  that  not  more  than  one  such  criminal 
in  every  hundred  finds  his  way  behind  prison  bars, 
where  all  thieves  of  this  class  rightly  belong.  The 
general  public  cannot  perceive  how  prevalent  this 
form  of  stealing  has  become.  The  reason  probably 
is  because  the  grafter  of  today  usually  moves  in  the 
best  society  and  often  holds  a  position  of  trust,  which 
facts  tend  to  divert  suspicion  from  him  and  from  his 
crooked  dealings. 

I  am  sure  that  a  successful  career  awaits  any  ambi- 
tious young  detective  who  will  devote  his  time  and 
energy  to  hunting  down  grafters.  One  or  two  suc- 
cessful cases  will  start  the  detective  on  the  road  to 
success.  The  field  for  detectives  for  this  class  of 
work  is  unlimited,  remuneration  is  the  best,  and  bet- 
ter still,  the  grafter  is  by  far  the  easiest  of  all  crim- 
inals to  catch.  It  is  as  easy  to  catch  grafters  as  it  is 
to  catch  fish,  the  process  being  simply  a  matter  of 
baiting  a  hook;  the  grafter,  in  his  greed  for  money, 
will  do  the  rest. 

In  both  large  and  small  cities,  and  in  country  dis- 
tricts as  well,  grafters  are  daily  gathering  in  ill 
57 


58  PRACTICAL  INSTRUCTION  FOR  DETECTIVES 

gotten  money  in  many  different  ways.  Criminal  rec- 
ords of  most  of  our  states  show  that  men,  while  hold- 
ing important  positions  of  trust  in  our  state  depart- 
ments, have  been  detected  and  found  guilty  of  various 
forms  of  grafting.  The  same  records,  in  a  good  many 
of  our  large  cities,  will  show  the  same.  I  believe  that 
one  of  the  best  things  that  could  possibly  be  done 
by  the  governors  of  our  states,  by  the  mayors  of  our 
cities,  and  by  our  prosecuting  attorneys,  would  be 
to  employ  annually  a  first-class,  reliable  detective  to 
investigate  thoroughly  into  the  various  interests  of 
the  public  which  they  control  to  ascertain  if  grafting 
exists.  Grafting  has  usually  been  found  where  such 
investigations  have  been  made. 

The  various  ways  by  which  men  who  have  held 
official  positions  in  state,  county  and  city  governments 
have  been  known  to  profit  by  grafting  would  be  a 
long  story  to  relate.  Regarding  grafting  by  public 
officials,  there  is  one  thing  in  particular  that  the  de- 
tective should  always  keep  in  mind,  that  being  that 
political  records  show  that  thousands  of  men  through- 
out the  country  have  had  themselves  elected  to  pub- 
lic office,  the  full  term  of  which  netted  them  in  salary 
often  only  half  the  amount  expended  by  them  in  hav- 
ing themselves  elected  to  office.  When  such  persons 
are  elected  to  public  office  it  very  often  is  the  begin- 
ning of  grafting  by  them  in  some  form. 

We  will  grant  that  some  of  these  men  were  public 
spirited  citizens,  and  while  in  office  may  have  served 
the  public  at  their  own  expense.  Nevertheless,  when 
we  know  that  a  man  has  actually  bought  his  way,  and 
paid  dearly  to  have  himself  elected  to  office,  that  man 
will  at  least  bear  watching.  I  have  in  mind  the  case 
of  a  certain  county  official  in  a  western  state,  who, 
some  years  ago,  succeeded  in  having  himself  elected 


GRAFTERS  50 

to  office,  which  office,  for  its  entire  term  of  three  years, 
carried  a  salary  amounting  to  $2,400.00.  This  man 
was  known  to  have  expended  close  to  $5,000.00  to 
heroine  elected.  Within  a  year  after  taking  office 
he  was  ousted  by  the  people  of  the  county,  who  de- 
manded his  resignation,  it  having  been  found  that 
his  campaign  for  election  was  financed  by  a  certain 
manufacturing  company,  and  that  after  taking  office 
he  had  accepted  certain  additional  sums  of  money  to 
protect  the  interests  of  the  same  concern. 

Right  here  we  have  another  kind  of  grafter.  The 
man  just  mentioned  was  known  to  have  purchased 
outright  with  money,  at  so  much  per  vote,  hundreds 
of  votes  that  were  cast  for  his  election.  Voters  ac- 
cepting such  money  are  of  course  guilty  of  a  crime 
worse  than  grafting.  In  most  of  our  states  we  now 
have  laws  which  make  it  a  misdemeanor  for  anyone 
to  pay  or  promise  to  pay,  or  to  give  or  promise  to 
give  anything  for  any  person's  vote. 

Grafting  of  the  worst  kind  has  been  found  to  exist 
in  the  law  making  bodies  of  some  of  our  states.  Many 
state  legislators  have  been  convicted  through  having 
accepted  money  to  vote  for-  or  against  certain  meas- 
ures, when  by  so  doing  they  virtually  sold  out,  for 
considerations  of  money,  the  people  by  whom  they 
were  elected  to  faithfully  represent.  The  methods 
employed  by  most  grafters,  I  believe,  are  too  common 
and  too  well  known  to  need  mention. 

In  connection  with  grafting  in  county  and  city 
governments,  it  has  been  found  very  often  that  offi- 
cials whose  duties  were  to  protect  society,  and  to 
endeavor  to  stamp  out  and  to  prevent  certain  viola- 
tions of  the  law,  were  grafters  of  the  worst  type.  For 
considerations  of  money  they  guaranteed  protection 
to  persons  known  to  be  violating  the  law.  Such  pro- 


60  PRACTICAL  INSTRUCTION  FOR  DETECTIVES 

tection  has  been  guaranteed  in  many  of  our  large 
cities  by  police  officials  to  keepers  of  houses  of  ill  re- 
pute, to  keepers  of  gambling  dens,  or  blind  tigers, 
etc.  The  extent  to  which  such  grafting  is  done  can 
easily  be  ascertained  by  the  detective  if  he  will  cul- 
tivate the  acquaintance  of  the  keepers  of  such  places. 
And  now  a  few  words  as  to  how  the  detective  may 
set  about  catching  some  of  these  various  kinds  of 
grafters. 

One  good  way  for  the  detective  to  secure  evidence 
against  a  grafter  is  to  first  form  his  acquaintance, 
then  lead  him  to  believe,  and  make  it  plain  to  him 
that  he  also  is  a  grafter,  or  at  least  willing  to  be  one. 
After  such  confidence  is  established,  an  arrangement 
should  be  made  for  making  any  payments  of  money 
to  the  grafter  at  such  a  place  and  in  such  a  manner 
that  it  can  be  substantially  corroborated.  So  as  to 
make  this  point  more  clear,  I  will  illustrate  how  I 
once,  as  a  result  of  one  day's  work,  secured  confes- 
sions from  some  forty  grafters  in  connection  with 
vote  buying  in  one  county  just  previous  to  an  election. 

It  was  suspected  that  a  certain  candidate  for  office 
was  spending  large  sums  of  money  for  votes  and  I 
was  called  in  to  obtain  positive  proof  of  it.  After 
being  supplied  with  a  list  of  names  of  persons  be- 
lieved to  be  the  distributors  of  the  candidate's  money, 
I  purposely  selected  from  the  list  a  man  said  to  be 
the  smartest  of  the  lot.  A  few  hours  later,  accom- 
panied by  an  assistant,  I  called  upon  the  man  at 
his  home.  I  advised  him  that  while  we  were  stran- 
gers to  him  we  were  old  friends  of  the  candidate's  and 
that  we  had  been  called  upon  to  assist  in  his  campaign. 

After  discussing  local  conditions  with  the  man,  and 
the  prospect  of  our  friend's  election  to  office,  I  took 
from  my  pocket  two  hundred  dollars  in  bills  which 


QBAFTBBfl  61 

had  previously  been  marked,  and  handed  them  to  the 
man  saying  that  our  1'rieud  the  candidate  sent  the 
money  to  give  to  him  for  distribution.  Needless  to 
staff,  the  man  did  not  rei'use  to  take  the  money.  The 
bold  and  confident  manner  in  which  it  was  handed 
to  him  laid  at  rest  any  fears  or  suspicions  he  may 
have  had.  He  no  doubt  felt  satisfied  that  we  were 
grafters  of  his  own  type,  and  immediately  began  to 
talk  very  freely  with  us.  We  conversed  with  him  for 
probably  an  hour,  during  which  time  he  advised  us 
of  various  sums  of  money  given  him  by  the  candidate 
for  distribution,  also  gave  us  the  names  of  a  dozen 
or  more  mm  who  were  distributing  funds  for  the 
candidate. 

•re  the  day  was  over  we  had  this  man  arrested 
and  searched,  when  all  of  the  marked  money  was  found 
on  his  person.  Realizing  that  he  had  been  trapped, 
he  lost  no  time  making  a  confession,  in  which  he  Du- 
plicated others,  with  the  result  that  some  forty  con- 
ned. I  have  found  grafters  of  this 
kind  very  prevalent  practically  all  over  the  country, 
and,  as  a  rule,  a  good  detective  will  experience  little 
trouble  finding  some  honest,  public-spirited  citizen 
willing  to  defray  the  cost  of  detective  hire  to  rnn  down 
such  persons. 

Ki  warding  another  kind  of  grafter,  I  once  was  called 
upon  to  secure  evidence  in  a  certain  small  town  against 
a  county  official  who  was  believed  to  be  guaranteeing 
protection  to  persons  selling  liquor  in  violation  of  the 
law.  the  chief  violators  being  several  local  druggists. 
Shortly  after  arriving  in  the  town  I  began  to  nego- 
tiate in  a  business  like  way  for  the  purchase  of  one 
of  the  drug  stores.  I  found  the  proprietor  of  one  of 
the  stores  willing  to  sell  out  provided  he  secured  his 
priiv.  After  remaining  in  town  about  ten  days,  I 


(52  PRACTICAL  INSTRUCTION*  FOR  DETECTPVEf 

took  an  option  for  thirty  days  on  one  of  the  stores, 
for  which  option  I  paid  a  hundred  dollars.  I  then 
left  town  temporarily,  telling  the  druggist  I  was  re- 
turning to  my  home  town  to  consult  with  my  partner 
in  business. 

Within  a  week  I  returned  with  my  partner  (an- 
other detective)  and  who  expressed  himself  as  being 
satisfied  with  the  place  I  had  negotiated  for.  We 
told  the  druggist  we  were  ready  to  buy,  but  before 
closing  the  deal  had  decided  we  would  like  to  be 
assured  against  interference  by  the  authorities  in  case 
we  saw  fit  to  sell  liquor  in  our  store.  I  suppose 
because  he  believed  he  was  getting  his  own  price  for 
his  property  and  business,  the  druggist  responded 
qiute  easily.  As  we  expected  he  would  do,  he  vol- 
unteered to  take  us  and  introduce  us  to  the  very 
county  official  we  were  after,  and  which  he  did  that 
evening. 

The  druggist  explained  to  the  county  official  that 
we  were  to  purchase  his  property  and  business  the 
next  day,  and  that  we  were  naturally  anxious  to 
know  if  we  could  be  assured  of  protection  in  case  we 
decided  to  sell  liquor.  Everything  appearing  to  be 
regular  to  the  official,  he  told  us  very  bluntly  \7hat 
it  would  cost  us  per  year  to  be  protected  and  re- 
quested a  first  payment  of  $50.00.  I  advised  him 
we  did  not  have  so  much  cash  with  us,  and  finally 
arranged  that  he  call  upon  us  the  next  day  at  10 
a.  m.  at  my  room  at  the  local  hotel,  when  we  would 
make  the  payment. 

Early  tne  next  morning  at  the  hotel  we  secreted 
two  responsible  persons  in  a  closet  in  my  room,  then 
awaited  the  arrival  of  our  grafter.  He  came  at  the 
appointed  hour  and  we  again  discussed  the  matter 
of  our  protection  and  paid  him  $50.00.  Immediately 


GRAFTERS  63 

,-  H.Tuanls  our  witnesses  stepped  out  of  the  closet, 
and  finding  himself  caught  with  four  witnesses 
against  him,  the  man  readily  agreed  to  give  us  a 
written  and  signed  confession.  He  was  told  he  would 
have  to  resign  his  position  forthwith  or  be  prose- 
cuted. He  chose  the  former,  which  ended  the  case. 

The  dictagraph  has  played  an  important  part  in 
the  detection  and  conviction  of  grafters.  When  it  is 
suspected  that  state,  county  or  city  officials  are  graft- 
ing, in  order  to  detect  them,  we  will  take  for  ex- 
ample one  or  more  city  officials  whose  duty  it  is  to 
let  for  their  city,  contracts  for  paving.  When  a 
municipality  gets  ready  to  pave  three  or  four  streets, 
or  to  let  contracts  for  machinery,  buildings  or  other 
public  improvements,  specifications  are  drawn  and 
the  same  advertised.  Perhaps  twenty  contractors  will 
submit  bids  and  one  can  imagine  the  rivalry  that  may 
exist  among  the  contractors,  especially  since  the 
municipality  usually  reserves  the  right  to  reject  any 
or  all  bids  and  are  not  bound  to  let  any  given  con- 
tract to  the  lowest  bidder.  Then  naturally  and  very 
often  the  question  arises  as  to  who  shall  be  favored. 
My  experience  in  many  cases  has  been  that  when 
the  city  officials  are  open  to  taking  graft,  a  con- 
tract will  go  to  the  contractor  who  will  pay  the  most 
for  being  favored. 

Three  city  officials  once  were  trapped  when  a  de- 
tective spent  six  months  in  their  city  posing  as  a 
contractor,  and  finally  when  his  company  was  fa- 
vored with  a  street  paving  contract  upon  the  payment 
of  $500.00  cash,  he  arranged  to  talk  over  the  trans- 
action and  later  paid  over  the  money  in  a  room  in  a 
hotel  in  which  a  dictagraph  was  secretly  installed, 
and  which  made  it  possible  to  substantiate  the  trans- 
action from  start  to  finish. 


64  PRACTICAL,  INSTRUCTION  FOR  DETECTIVES 

Grafting  is  prevalent  in  many  lines  of  business, 
especially  where  one  man  is  entrusted  with  the  let- 
ting of  contracts,  or  with  the  purchase  of  supplies 
for  a  city,  corporation,  factory  or  individual.  The 
following  will  illustrate  just  how  prevalent  petty 
grafting  has  become  and  which  came  to  my  notice 
through  a  case  I  had  occasion  to  investigate  for  a 
certain  well-to-do  gentleman.  This  man  owned  two 
automobiles  and  entrusted  to  his  colored  chauffeur 
the  purchase  of  gasoline  and  supplies  for  the  ma- 
chines. From  various  dealers  this  chauffeur  obtained 
a  "rake-off"  on  every  gallon  of  gasoline  used,  and 
on  the  purchase  of  new  tires,  etc.  The  more  gasoline 
he  used  the  more  money  this  chauffeur  would  make, 
and  the  same  with  tires  and  other  supplies.  During 
the  investigation  this  chauffeur's  purchases  of  gaso- 
line from  the  dealer  were  compared  with  the  mileage 
of  the  automobiles,  and  when  it  was  estimated  that 
the  owner  was  paying  for  two  or  three  gallons  of 
gasoline  per  week  for  a  long  time  that  could  not 
possibly  have  been  used.  It  was  then  believed  that 
the  chauffeur  was  selling  the  surplus  gasoline,  but 
this  could  not  be  proven.  Finally,  when  taken  to 
task  and  shown  the  amount  of  his  purchases,  he  con- 
fessed to  having  poured  the  gasoline  into  the  sewer 
of  the  garage. 

I  was  once  called  upon  to  look  into  a  case  where 
grafting  was  suspected  in  a  small  town,  and  where 
the  president  of  the  town  council,  who  was  a  promi- 
nent physician,  was  under  suspicion.  I  arrived  in 
town  two  days  before  a  certain  measure  was  to  be 
acted  upon  in  council,  the  measure  being  in  relation 
to  a  heating  contract.  I  called  upon  the  physician 
at  hie  office  and  told  him  in  plain  words  that  I  repre- 
sented one  of  the  competing  firms  and  that  I  had 


GRAKTEKS  65 

been  authorized  to  offer  him  two  hundred  dollars  for 
his  vote  and  influence  in  favor  of  my  company. 
He  accepted  from  me  the  two  hundred  dollars  cash 
consisting  of  marked  five  dollar  bills,  and  endeavored 
to  convince  me  that  he  was  not  a  grafter  by  saying 
that  he  had  intended  favoring  my  company  anyway 
and  was  not  accepting  the  money  for  changing  his 
decision  on  the  measure  in  council. 

After  leaving  him  I  went  promptly  to  the  per- 
sons who  had  retained  me,  when  it  was  quickly  ar- 
ranged to  have  a  certain  person  who  owed  the 
physician  a  small  bill  go  there  to  pay  it  with  a  twenty 
dollar  bill.  This  party  returned  with  three  of  the 
marked  five  dollar  bills,  which  the  physician  unsus- 
pectingly made  the  change  with.  In  addition,  I 
had  had  the  physician  prescribe  for  me  for  a  pre- 
tended ailment,  and  by  which  I  was  enabled  to  sub- 
stantiate my  call  upon  him,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that 
I  went  to  him  alone.  It  was  only  desired  to  have 
this  man  resign  from  council,  which,  it  may  be  im- 
agined, he  was  glad  to  do  when  confronted  with  the 
evidence  of  having  accepted  a  bribe.  This  entire 
case  was  closed  successfully  in  less  than  four  hours 
after  active  work  was  started. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

DETECTIVE   WORK   IN   DEPARTMENT 
STORES 

There  are,  in  my  opinion,  no  business  concerns 
that  suffer  a  greater  loss,  nor  are  occasioned  more 
worry  than  are  the  department  stores  of  our  large 
cities.  Annually  they  lose  thousands  of  dollars 
worth  of  merchandise  mainly  through  the  operations 
of  store  thieves  known  as  shoplifters,  and  through 
the  dishonesty  of  employes.  In  any  of  our  large  up- 
to-date  department  stores  the  services  of  no  less  than 
a  dozen  trained  detectives,  both  male  and  female, 
are  required  to  properly  guard  such  stores  against 
thefts.  Inasmuch  as  department  stores  offer  one 
of  the  broadest  fields  for  private  detectives,  I  shall 
set  forth  some  of  the  many  ways  by  which  such 
stores  are  robbed  and  defrauded  daily;  also  one  of 
the  best  known  methods  for  detectives  to  cope  with 
the  offenders. 

As  previously  stated,  in  department  stores,  both 
male  and  female  detectives  are  employed.  Although 
I  have  known  instances  where  experienced  female 
store  detectives  have  been  of  valuable  assistance  to 
department  stores,  male  detectives,  as  a  rule,  can 
give  the  best  protection.  The  store  detective  must 
be  a  person  of  good,  sound  judgment,  be  able  to 
think  and  act  quickly,  and  must  always  be  alert 
and  wide  awake  during  business  hours  at  the  store 


DEPARTMENT  STORES  6T 

where  he  or  she  may  be  engaged.  It  is  essential 
that  store  detectives  dress  well,  but  not  conspicu- 
ously, and  while  in  the  store,  if  the  detective  be  a 
man,  he  should  wear  his  hat  and  coat  at  all  times. 

If  it  be  in  the  winter  time  the  detective  should 
wear  a  light  overcoat,  and  on  rainy  days  should 
carry  an  umbrella.  It  is  a  very  good  plan  for  the 
detective  to  carry  a  package  under  his  arm,  the  pur- 
pose of  all  these  things  being  to  give  out  the  im- 
pression that  the  detective  is  a  customer  instead  of 
what  he  really  is.  The  detective  should  keep  mov- 
ing about  in  the  store,  pretend  to  make  purchases, 
and  if  possible  change  his  hat  and  coat  several  times 
a  day. 

In  order  to  emphasize  the  necessity  of  these  things, 
we  will  look  at  shoplifting  for  a  few  moments  from 
the  shoplifter's  point  of  view.  Usually  when  a  shop- 
lifter decides  upon  some  particular  store  to  operate 
in,  he  or  she  may  first  visit  the  store  a  dozen  times 
if  necessary  in  order  to  pick  out  the  store  detective. 
After  becoming  satisfied  on  this  point  the  shoplifter 
figures  on  how  best  to  avoid  the  persons  he  or  she 
have  picked  out  as  being  detectives,  then  will  begin 
to  operate. 

The  professional  shoplifter,  if  she  be  a  woman, 
usually  wears,  during  cold  weather,  a  long  coat  and 
wide  skirt  in  which  are  capacious  pockets  for  con- 
cealing and  carrying  off  stolen  merchandise.  The 
shoplifter  rarely  will  bother  with  cheap  merchan- 
dise, but  will  confine  her  thefts  to  valuable  laces, 
silks,  furs,  jewelry,  etc.,  which  she  secretes  in  the 
pockets  of  her  skirt  or  coat.  During  the  summer 
season  when  it  would  be  out  of  place  to  wear  a  coat, 
the  shoplifter  takes  advantage  of  the  rainy  days  and 
enters  stores  with  her  umbrella,  in  which  she  secretes 


68  PRACTICAL,  INSTRUCTION  FOR  DETECTIVES 

and  carries  off  such  articles  as  she  may  find  an  op- 
portunity to  take  from  the  counters  unobserved  by 
the  clerks  or  floorwalkers. 

Very  often  a  professional  shoplifter  will  take  with 
her  to  a  store  a  confederate,  especially  if  she  has 
reason  to  believe  that  her  operations  have  aroused 
the  suspicious  of  any  of  the  store's  detectives.  The 
confederate  will  proceed  directly  to  the  ladies'  toilet 
or  rest  room.  After  the  shoplifter  has  taken  one 
or  more  articles  she  joins  her  confederate,  and  un- 
observed passes  the  articles  to  the  confederate.  Then 
in  case  she  has  been  watched  or  is  arrested  upon 
leaving  the  store,  no  goods  will  be  found  on  her 
person. 

I  have  known  careless  store  detectives  to  arrest 
shoplifters  whom  they  observed  stealing  goods  in  the 
store,  but  who  did  not  have  the  goods  on  their  per- 
sons when  they  were  arrested.  When  an  arrest  of 
this  kind  is  made  it  is  usually  the  beginning  of 
serious  trouble  for  the  management  of  the  store. 
The  detective  will  have  played  into  the  hands  of  the 
shoplifter;  she  will  promptly  take  advantage  of  the 
circumstances  and  bring  suit  against  the  manage- 
ment for  false  arrest.  Ordinarily  department  stores 
do  not  relish  such  undesirable  notoriety;  damage 
suits  are  expensive,  so  usually  they  settle  such  cases. 
If  the  shoplifter,  after  having  been  observed  taking 
some  article,  enters  the  rest  or  toilet  room  before 
leaving  the  store,  it  will  be  best  for  the  detective 
not  to  take  any  chances  in  causing  her  arrest  for  the 
reason  just  mentioned. 

The  detective,  as  a  rule,  should  not  make  and  ar- 
rest under  any  circumstances  until  after  the  shop- 
lifter has  left  the  store.  I  have  known  cases  where 
shoplifters  and  store  thieves  were  arrested  inside  of 


DEPARTMENT  STORES  69 

stores  with  stolen  goods  on  their  persons,  but  who, 
immediately  after  being  arrested,  set  up  the  claim 
that  they  had  no  intention  of  stealing  the  goods,  but 
that  they  were' just  taking  the  goods  to  the  light  to 
examine  them.  Later  when  their  cases  came  up  in 
court  they  would  be  represented  by  shrewd  attor- 
neys who  took  advantage  of  the  law  itself  by  main- 
taining that  inasmuch  as  the  goods  had  not  been 
taken  from  the  premises  of  the  store,  no  theft  was 
committed. 

I  would  state  that  as  a  rule  if  the  detective  is 
watchful  he  will  have  no  difficulty  in  picking  out  the 
shoplifters.  Persons  so  bent  usually  keep  looking 
about  them  furtively  to  note  if  anyone  is  watching 
them.  Quite  often  they  are  nervous  and  flit  quickly 
from  one  counter  to  another.  If  the  detective  be  in 
doubt  he  usually  can.  with  half  an  hour's  careful 
watching,  determine  to  his  own  satisfaction  the  real 
purpose  of  any  person's  visit  to  the  store. 

Department  stoivs  suffer  serious  losses  through 
the  operations  of  other  classes  of  criminals  who  make 
a  practice  of  preying  on  such  stores.  A  large  de- 
partment store  of  the  present  day  may  have  on  its 
list  from  one  to  two  thousand  customers,  who  have 
with  the  store  what  are  known  as  charge  accounts. 
Such  customers  may  visit  the  store,  make  a  purchase, 
and  have  the  amount  of  same  charged  to  their  ac- 
count. Often  they  make  such  purchases  by  tele- 
phone, or  may  send  a  maid  or  other  person  to  the 
store  to  make  the  purchases.  A  certain  class  of  store 
swindlers  make  it  a  point  to  ascertain  the  names  of 
persons  having  such  accounts  at  stores  after  which 
they  visit  the  stores,  impersonate  the  customers,  and 
very  frequently  secure  and  make  off  with  goods  of 
irreat  value. 


70  PRACTICAL,  INSTRUCTION  FOR  DETECTIVES 

Usually  such  swindlers  are  not  discovered  until 
the  end  of  a  month,  when  the  customer  receives  his 
or  her  bill,  but  by  which  time  the  swindler  may  be  in 
some  distant  city  preparing  to  victimize  another 
store.  Dishonest  employes  and  discharged  employes 
are  usually  responsible  for  giving  out  information 
regarding  customers'  charge  accounts.  The  swindler, 
however,  can  easily  secure  such  information  in  many 
other  ways.  We  have  also  the  store  swindler  who 
goes  to  some  large  city  and  purposely  registers  at 
a  leading  hotel.  He  then  visits  a  department  store, 
purchases  an  expensive  suit  or  overcoat,  in  payment 
of  which  he  tenders  a  bogus  check.  He  requests  that 
his  purchase  be  delivered  to  his  hotel,  which  may 
be  done,  but  the  swindler  will  be  gone  long  before 
the  store  discovers  that  it  can  not  realize  on  the 
check. 

One  may  ask  how  stores  can  be  so  easily  victim- 
ized. There  are  two  reasons,  and  they  apply  not 
only  to  this  class  of  swindle,  but  to  many  others  as 
well.  The  swindler  may  have,  by  his  smooth  and 
sauve  manner,  impressed  the  management  or  clerk 
that  he  was  all  that  he  represented  himself  to  be,  and 
they,  in  an  unguarded  moment,  allowed  themselves 
to  be  swindled.  On  the  other  hand,  it  may  have 
been  the  anxiety  of  making  a  sale  at  a  good  profit 
with  an  apparently  good  customer  that  may  have 
caused  them  to  overlook  ascertaining  the  genuineness 
of  the  swindler's  check  before  delivering  the  goods. 

Another  source  of  loss  by  department  stores  is 
through  dishonest  clerks  being  in  collusion  with  out- 
side parties.  A  clerk,  for  instance,  employed  at  a 
silk  or  lace  counter,  will  have  a  friend  or  confeder- 
ate call  at  her  counter  during  the  day.  A  yard  of 
silk  may  be  purchased  and  paid  therefor,  but  it  is 


"DEfARTMENTBtORES"    "  71 

quite  an  easy  matter  for  the  dishonest  clerk  to  cut 
off  and  have  wrapped  ;i  yard  and  a  half  or  two  yards 
of  tlu-  material  purchased.  I  have  known  respect- 
able. w«-ll-to-(l«.  \\omen  t-iiter  inlo  such  arrangements 
with  clerks  at  stores,  seemingly  treating  such  mat- 
ters lightly,  and  even  telling  their  friends  about  such 
transactions. 

There  are  innumerable  other  ways  by  which  em- 
pluys  steal  from  stores.  Some  clerks  inclined  t|> 
steal  become  very  bold  and  very  often  carry  out 
openly  stolen  goods  that  they  claim  to  have  pur- 
chased. At  thoroughly  up-to-date  stores  all  clerks 
and  employes,  when  leaving  the  store  in  the  evening, 
are  required  to  leave  by  some  certain  exit,  where 
there  is  stationed  a  watchman  who  examines  all 
packages  that  are  carried  out.  The  watchman  holds 
up  all  packages  that  do  not  bear  the  O.  K.  of  some 
floorwalker  or  other  official  of  the  store. 

During  such  times  as  the  Christmas  shopping 
season,  which  in  large  cities  begins  about  November 
first,  the  management  of  large  stores  find  it  necessary 
to  double  their  detective  forces,  and  well  they  may, 
as  November  and  December  are  the  months  during 
which  shoplifters,  pickpockets  and  others  figure  on 
reaping  their  harvests.  Pickpockets  in  stores  must 
also  be  given  attention  by  the  store  detective.  Cus- 
tomers do  not  relish  having  their  purses  or  pockets 
picked  while  in  stores,  and  when  it  does  happen  to  d 
customer,  he  or  she  usually  remains  away  from  thai 
store  in  the  future.  Much  more  might  be  said  upon 
the  subject  of  department  store  detective  work,  but 
I  believe  what  has  been  gone  into  will  be  sufficient  to 
guide  the  average  person  in  this  branch  of  the  work. 


CHAPTER  IX 
RAILROAD  DETECTIVE  WORK 

Railroad  companies  suffer  tremendous  losses 
yearly  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  vast  sums  are  con- 
tinually being  spent  to  guard  against  theft  by  em- 
ployees, thefts  by  car  thieves,  damage  suits,  etc.  As 
to  the  first  mentioned  source  of  loss  railroad  com- 
panies are  obliged  to  maintain  at  their  freight  yards 
and  terminals  large  forces  of  detectives  to  guard 
against  thefts.  Although  not  generally  known  to 
persons  outside  of  railroad  circles,  it  is  a  fact  that 
many  roads  employ  an  average  of  fifty  detectives  for 
every  hundred  miles  of  their  systems.  The  large 
railroads  nowadays  are  policed  in  much  the  same 
manner  as  are  our  large  cities. 

Besides  guarding  against  thefts  of  valuable 
freight  while  in  transit,  patrons  at  the  crowded  sta- 
tions and  depots  must  be  protected  so  far  as  pos- 
sible from  the  operations  of  pickpockets,  swindlers 
and  baggage  thieves.  The  smaller  stations  along 
the  line  where  there  are  ticket  offices  must  be 
guarded  against  attacks  by  burglars.  Practically 
all  large  railroads  maintain  staffs  of  detectives  whose 
duties  are  to  travel  over  the  lines  and  do  what  is 
called  checking.  Manipulation  of  tickets  and  cash 
fares  is  usually  prevalent  and  no  doubt  will  always 
be  so  long  as  we  have  railroads  and  conductors. 

Trains  are  checked  at  regular  intervals  unknown 
72 


RAILROAD   DETECTIVE  WORK  73 

to  train  crews.  Action  of  train  crews  while  on 
duty  are  reported  on  by  detectives;  also  the  kind  of 
service  accorded  patrons  of  dining,  parlor  and  sleep- 
ing cars.  In  these  days  when  competition  is  keen, 
and  when  railroads  are  vieing  with  each  other  to 
furnish  the  best  possible  service,  it  is  important  to 
managements  to  know  to  a  certainty  if  conductors 
and  other  employees  are  courteous  and  obliging  to 
patrons,  if  any  rules  of  the  company  are  being  dis- 
regarded, and,  as  a  whole,  if  the  kind  of  service  that 
it  is  intended  to  give  is  being  given. 

Checking  passenger  trains  is  one  of  the  most  con- 
genial branches  of  detective  work,  and  a  branch 
which  gives  the  young  detective  plenty  of  valuable 
experience.  This  branch  of  railroad  detective  work 
being  the  most  desirable,  I  will  endeavor  to  show 
what  managements  usually  expect  from  their  detec- 
tives. The  detective  may  be  detailed  to  check  a 
sleeping  car  on  some  particular  line  from  the  time 
of  departure  of  the  car  from  some  given  point  in  the 
evening  until  it  arrives  at  its  destination  in  the 
morning.  The  detective's  report  will  be  expected  to 
contain  information  about  as  follows: 

Name  of  the  conductor  in  charge  of  the  car;  if  the 
crew  got  out  at  stations  to  assist  passengers  to  board 
or  alight;  if  the  stepping  box  was  properly  placed 
for  passengers;  if  assistance  was  given  with  bag- 
gage; if  the  conductor  and  porter  were  wearing 
their  proper  uniforms;  if  uniforms  were  neat,  and 
if  the  conductor  and  porter  were  courteous  to  pas- 
sengers. If  the  car  was  properly  cleaned  and 
dusted;  if  the  porter  unnecessarily  disturbed  the 
passengers  in  any  way;  if  all  berths  were  made  up 
properly,  and  if  properly  closed  in  the  morning; 
if  the  window  shades  worked  properly;  if  ham- 


74  PRACTICAL,  INSTRUCTION  FOR  DETECTIVES 

mocks  were  properly  hung  in  berths;  if  the  linen 
was  clean  and  the  lights  in  good  order;  if  the  lights 
were  turned  out  at  the  proper  hour;  if  any  persons 
at  stations  disturbed  passengers;  if  any  of  the  crew 
loafed  in  any  unoccupied  berths.  If  there  were  any 
complaints  by  passengers  and  if  the  complaints  were 
attended  to.  If  ventilation  was  good  and  proper 
temperatures  maintained;  if  any  of  the  crew  slept 
while  on  duty;  if  the  water  and  towel  supply  was 
proper  and  sufficient;  if  there  were  any  accidents 
during  the  trip;  if  porter  had  shoes  properly  pol- 
ished. 

If  passengers  were  properly  brushed  by  the  por- 
ter; if  any  of  the  crew  acted  familiarly  with  passen- 
gers; if  any  of  the  crew  smoked  while  on  duty;  if 
tickets  were  collected  promptly  by  the  conductor, 
and  if  railway  and  hotel  guides  were  in  proper 
places.  In  addition  to  the  foregoing  the  detective 
usually  is  required  to  report  on  how  many  berths 
were  occupied  in  the  car,  the  number  of  men  and 
number  of  women  passengers,  children  if  any,  also 
how  many  cash  fares  were  collected  by  the  con- 
ductor for  berths.  When  reporting  on  dining  car 
service  detectives  usually  are  expected  to  cover  in 
their  reports  the  following: 

If  crew  was  polite  and  efficient;  if  conductor  was 
properly  uniformed,  amount  of  the  detective's  check 
and  its  number;  if  linen  was  in  good  condition  and 
clean;  if  tables  were  properly  set;  if  food  was  of 
good  quality.  If  waiters  were  properly  uniformed; 
if  finger  bowls  were  promptly  and  correctly  served; 
if  dining  car  was  properly  ventilated  and  lighted ; 
if  liquor  was  served  on  the  car ;  if  silver  was  in  good 
condition  and  prompt  service  given.  The  articles 
of  food  and  drink  ordered  by  the  detective  should 


i'i:n-:cTivio  WORK  75 

be  shown,  the  number  of  the  table  at  which  hr  *jit, 
the  number  <>i  the  waiter  \\lio  served  him,  the  num- 
ber of  th>-  e:ir.  t)ie  time  he  left  the  car,  the  number  of 
the  train,  its  time  nf  departure  and  arrival,  and  be- 
tween \\hat  points  traveled. 

With  such  daily  reports  placed  in  their  h:ni-K 
persons  responsible  to  the  managements  for  proper 
maintenance  of  sleeping  and  dining  car  service  art- 
enabled  to  know  precisely  the  kind  of  service  that  is 
being  given  patrons,  which  information  enables  them 
to  keep  such  service  to  the  highest  -standard  of  ef- 
ficiency. Employees  often,  when  coming  in  from 
a  run,  are  summarily  discharged,  or  their  resigna- 
tions may  be  asked  for,  but  that  is  another  matter; 
railroads  need  and  must  have  detectives.  It  will  be 
seen  that  the  railroads  offer  a  very  broad  field  for 
detectives,  and  there  is  no  reason  why  any  young 
man  with  good  common  sense  should  not  be  able  to 
properly  check  a  sleeping  or  dining  car  on  his  first 
attempt. 


CHAPTER  X 

DETECTIVE   WORK   FOR  STREET 
RAILWAYS 

Practically  all  street  railway  companies  find  it 
necessary  to  employ  detectives.  The  largest  corpor- 
ations of  this  kind  may  employ  anywhere  from  ten 
to  fifty  detectives  the  year  round,  and  one  may  won- 
der why  and  how  all  these  detectives  are  employed. 
Street  railway  companies,  like  the  railroad  com- 
panies, are  obliged  continually  to  guard  against 
three  serious  sources  of  loss,  namely:  thefts  by  em- 
ployees, damage  suits  and  strikes.  Experience  has 
taught  the  management  of  street  railway  companies 
that  stealing  on  the  part  of  conductors  is  always 
more  or  less  prevalent.  Conductors  are  not  usually 
prosecuted  when  caught  stealing  fares,  but  are  sim- 
ply discharged.  The  morning  and  evening  crowds 
on  street  cars  provide  opportunities  for  conductors 
to  steal,  if  they  may  be  so  inclined. 

A  conductor  may  feel  that  half  a  dozen  fares  ap- 
propriated to  his  own  use  every  day  will  not  be 
missed  by  the  company.  However,  if  we  take  a  cor- 
poration employing  say  five  or  six  hundred  conduc- 
tors, it  will  readily  be  seen  that  small  thefts  by  con- 
ductors can  easily  run  into  hundreds  of  dollars  daily. 
As  a  rule  managements  do  not  discharge  a  conductor 
for  stealing  until  it  has  been  found  conclusively,  on 
at  least  two  or  three  occasions,  that  he  is  doing  so. 
76 


STREET  RAILWAYS  77 

Usually  there  are  as  many  detectives  employed  on 
street  railway  lines  as  there  are  runs  or  routes  on 
the  system.  Unknown  to  the  conductors  these  de- 
tt-i-fivt'8  ride  on  the  cars  from  early  morning  until 
evening,  or  from  morning  until  midnight,  changing 
from  one  line  to  another  frequently  enough  not  to 
be  noticed  by  the  conductors. 

The  detective  provides  himself  with  a  small 
counting  machine  which  can  be  concealed  in  the 
hand.  Upon  boarding  a  car  he  makes  note  of  the 
number  of  the  car,  the  cap  number  of  the  conductor, 
and  the  number  of  cash  fares  shown  by  the  register. 
\Vhilt-  apparently  busily  engaged  reading  a  news- 
paper or  magazine,  the  detective  keeps  accurate 
count  of  the  number  of  passengers  boarding  the  car, 
noting  at  the  same  time  if  transfers  are  received  or 
issued.  As  a  rule  conductors  are  required  to  render 
separate  reports  to  the  company  for  every  trip  they 
make,  and  to  show  the  place  and  minute  the  trip 
was  terminated.  They  must  show  in  their  reports 
the  number  of  cash  fares  collected;  also  the  number 
of  transfers  issued  and  collected. 

If  a  conductor's  report  for  any  given  trip  does 
not  coincide  with  the  report  of  the  detective  the  con- 
ductor will  be  checked  more  closely  on  succeeding 
trips,  often  by  as  many  as  three  detectives  at  the 
same  time.  If  the  conductor's  reports  to  the  com- 
pany continue  to  show  a  shortage  of  cash  fares,  the  _ 
chances  are  that  he  will  be  discharged.  As  to  the  ' 
second  mentioned  source  of  loss,  managements  of 
large  companies  usually  are  obliged  to  defend  in  the 
courts  the  year  round,  damage  suits  brought 
against  them  for  personal  injuries  by  persons  who 
very  frequently  have  sustained  no  injury  or  damage 
whatever.  A  surprisingly  large  number  of  fake 


78  PRACTICAL  INSTRUCTION  FOR  DETECTIVES 

suits  are  entered  yearly  against  transportation  com- 
panies. There  is  also  to  deal  with  the  professional 
witnesess,  who  go  from  place  to  place,  and  who,  for 
considerations  of  money,  will  swear  to  having  seen 
anything  happen. 

I  recall  a  case  wherein  a  middle  aged  lady  left  her 
home  one  morning  in  New  York  to  board  a  steam- 
ship bound  for  Europe.  She  rode  down  town  in  a 
surface  car  which  happened  to  collide  with  another 
car,  with  the  result  that  half  a  dozen  passengers 
were  more  or  less  injured.  The  lady  in  question, 
however,  sustained  no  injury  and  continued  on  her 
way.  Several  months  later,  while  at  the  home  of 
a  relative  in  England,  she  accidentally  fell  and  in- 
jured her  spine.  She  promptly  took  advantage  of 
her  mishap  by  returning  to  New  York,  where  she 
brought  suit  against  the  railway  corporation,  claim- 
ing to  have  been  disabled  permanently  as  a  result  of 
the  street  car  accident  before  sailing  for  Europe. 
The  fact  that  she  was  permanently  injured  could  not 
be  disputed;  the  railway  was  not  prepared  to  dis- 
pute the  matter  of  where  and  how  she  claimed  to 
have  received  her  injuries,  with  the  result  that  she 
received  heavy  damages.  The  fraud  was  discovered 
by  chance  several  years  later. 

Like  all  other  large  employers  of  labor,  street  rail- 
way companies  are  not  immune  from  having  their 
employes  go  out  on  strike.  When  street  railway  em- 
ployees, or  those  of  other  transportation  companies 
are  organized,  a  strike  is  liable  to  be  called  at  any 
time,  and  often  upon  the  least  provocation.  It  is 
highly  important  that  managements  have  advance 
information  of  any  proposed  strike,  and  of  any 
grievances  of  any  employees,  whether  well  founded 
or  not.  By  having  such  advance  information  seri- 


STREET  RAILWAYS  TO 

ous  loss  can  very  often  be  averted  by  the  manage- 
ment getting  rid  of  the  agitators  and  trouble  mak- 
ers as  quickly  as  they  make  their  appearange  among 
the  employes.  It  is  well  for  the  managements  to 
keep  advised  at  all  times  regarding  the  attitude  o£ 
employees. 

There  is  but  one  good  way  to  accomplish  this,  and 
that  is  to  have  detectives  scattered  among  the  em- 
ployes. The  detectives  can  be  put  to  work  among 
the  men  as  conductors,  motormen  or  as  shop  men. 
I  have  known  detectives  to  work  in  each  of  these 
capacities  for  years  at  a  stretch  without  becoming 
uncovered,  and  without  their  purpose  having  be- 
come known.  The  valuable  services  that  such  de- 
tectives can  render  their  employers  will  readily  be 
appreciated. 


CHAPTER  XI 
OTHER  KINDS  OF  DETECTIVE  WORK 

I  believe  it  will  be  of  interest  to  both  experienced 
and  inexperienced  detectives  to  be  enlightened  re- 
garding some  of  the  many  other  sources  from  which 
private  detective  work  arises.  Lawyers  throughout 
the  country,  in  both  large  and  small  cities,  and  even 
in  thinly  settled  country  communities,  are  large  em- 
ployers of  private  detective  service.  When  prose- 
cuting or  defending  damage  cases,  attorneys  very 
often  need  detective  service  in  getting  at  facts,  in 
order  to  properly  prepare  their  cases.  Witnesses 
must  be  interviewed,  and  very  often  investigated. 
Murder,  burglary,  damage  and  divorce  cases  supply 
needs  for  a  great  deal  of  detective  work. 

State,  county  and  city  governments  are  large  em- 
ployers  of   private   detectives.     Counties  and   cities 
often  have  their  own  staffs  of  detectives,  but  there 
are  many  occasions  when  special  detectives  must  be 
pressed  into  service.     Nowadays  election  frauds  are 
^practiced  practically  everywhere.  Private  detectives 
•  are  needed  and  can  easily  obtain  employment  wher- 
ever there  are  professional  politicians.     Trusted  em- 
ployees often  go  wrong  and  disappear  with  public 
funds.     Officials  holding  high  offices  very  often  turn 
out  to  be  embezzlers.     Dozens  of  banks  are  being  de- 
frauded daily  somewhere  by  forgers,  sneak  thieves 
and  others.     Hundreds  of  our  large  banking  insti- 
80 


OTHER  KINDS  OF  DETECTIVE  WORK  gfc 

tutions  periodically  place  under  surveillance  their 
entire  staffs  of  employees,  from  the  cashier  down  to> 
the  messenger  boy  and  porter  in  order  to  keep  ad- 
vised regarding  the  habits  and  associates  of  the  em- 
ployees, which  information  enables  them  to  select 
from  time  to  time  the  proper  persons  for  promotion^ 

Large  manufacturers,  no  matter  what  the  line* 
usually  are  extensive  employers  of  private  detec- 
tives. I  have  in  mind  a  large  manufacturing  con- 
cern which  employes  in  its  factory  probably  three 
thousand  persons,  and  at  all  times  not  less  than  two- 
hundred  traveling  salesmen,  also  dozens  of  branch 
managers.  When  it  is  suspected  that  a  traveling 
salesman  is  not  attending  to  business,  he  is  placed 
under  surveillance  while  on  his  travels  from  city 
to  city,  for  probably  one,  two  or  three  weeks.  The 
detective's  report  will  show  the  time  of  day  the 
salesman  begins  work,  what  firms  he  calls  on,  how 
much  time  spent  with  each  firm,  and  how  much  time 
is  idled  away,  and  the  time  the  salesman  discon- 
tinued work  each  day;  also  how  much  time  the  sales- 
man may  spend  in  saloons  or  other  places,  how  he 
spends  his  evenings  and  how  much  money  he  spends. 

In  connection  with  this  class  of  detective  work, 
I  once  had  occasion  to  keep  under  surveillance  for 
three  weeks  a  traveling  salesman,  who,  as  it  devel- 
oped, devoted  more  time  to  a  side  line  than  he  did 
to  the  line  he  was  being  paid  to  travel  and  promote 
business  for.  Needless  to  state,  this  salesman,  after 
his  employers  received  my  reports,  was  obb'ged  to 
change  his  ways.  The  tendency  of  salesmen  to  de- 
vote time  to  side  lines  is  one  of  the  worst  evils  that 
employers  of  traveling  salesmen  have  to  contend 
with. 


82  PRACTICAL,  INSTRUCTION  FOR  DETECTIVES 

In  factories,  no  matter  of  what  nature,  employers 
usually  find  it  expedient  to  place  secretly  among 
their  employees,  detectives  who  work  side  by  side 
with  the  employees.  Male  or  female  detectives  are 
so  placed,  as  the  case  may  warrant,  The  reports 
these  detectives  are  enabled  to  render  show  which 
employees  are  worthy  of  trust  or  promotion  and 
those  that  are  not.  Such  reports  will  show  who  are 
the  lazy  ones,  the  dissatisfied  ones,  the  strike  agi- 
tators, those  who  steal  tools,  material  or  supplies, 
those  who  violate  any  rules  of  the  factory  or  shop ; 
also  what  kind  of  treatment  is  accorded  the  em- 
ployees by  the  foreman.  An  entire  book  could  be 
written  on  this  branch  of  detective  work  alone.  It 
is  an  undisputed  fact  that  large  employers  of  labor 
nowadays  cannot  conduct  their  business  as  success- 
fully without  secret  service  work. 

Besides  the  thousands  of  manufactories,  transpor- 
tation companies  and  others  who  constantly  employ 
detectives,  we  have  the  wholesale  companies  who  deal 
in  groceries,  dry  goods,  drugs,  shoes,  etc.,  who  also 
are  in  need  of  such  services.  The'  traveling  sales- 
man of  such  concerns  must  be  looked  after,  also  the 
drones  and  thieves  with  which  their  warehouses  be- 
come infested. 

ILLEGAL  LIQUOR  SELLING 

Illegal  liquor  selling  opens  a  very  broad  field  for 
detectives  throughout  the  country,  and  I  have  per- 
sonally obtained  and  directed  the  obtaining  of  evi- 
dence in  a  hundred  different  ways.  In  this  branch 
of  the  work  one  cannot  be  guided  by  any  set  rule, 
but  must  be  governed  by  prevailing  conditions.  If 
it  be  desired  to  obtain  evidence  regarding  the  illegal 
sale  of  liquor,  or  regarding  any  other  violations  of 


OTHER  KINDS  OF  DETECTIVE  WORK  83 

law  in  a  hotel  of  any  size,  there  is  only  one  good 
plan,  and  that  is  to  have  the  detective  obtain  employ- 
ment at  the  place  for  a  few  weeks  or  a  month. 

I  have  had  many  occasions  to  direct  the  work  of 
obtaining  evidence  of  the  illegal  sale  of  liquor,  gam- 
bling and  other  vices  in  small  towns.  In  the  average 
town  of  from  three  to  ten  thousand  population,  the 
best  plan  is  to  have  the  detective  obtain  employment 
in  xume  mill,  factory  or  store.  In  this  way  he  can 
easily  become  acquainted  and  can  associate  with 
whatever  element  he  may  choose  to  associate  with 
and  without  his  purpose  being  suspected.  After 
the  detective  has  been  in  the  town  for  two  or  three 
weeks,  and  has  purchased  liquor  at  the  various 
places  where  it  is  sold  illegally,  a  second  detective  is 
sent  to  the  town  who  poses  as  the  friend  of  the  first 
one.  The  first  detective  then  proceeds  to  take  his 
t'rirnd  around  to  the  various  places  in  the  evening, 
or  on  Sunday,  and  in  this  way  corroborative  evi- 
dt  iin'  is  obtained.  Bottles  of  liquor  should  be  ob- 
tained at  the  various  places  and  retained  intact  for 
use  later  as  evidence. 

ANONYMOUS   LETTERS 

There  are  written  and  mailed  every  year  thousands 
of  anonymous  letters,  threatening  and  otherwise,  and 
there  is  need  for  much  detective  work  along  this  line. 
Many  such  letters  are  written  and  addressed  with  the 
typewriter,  the  authors  believing  that  by  so  writing 
them  they  can  escape  detection.  But  this  is  not  so, 
as  I  have  always  found  it  easier  to  trace  to  the  writer 
those  that  are  written  with  typewriter,  because  when 
type  is  placed  under  the  magnifying  glass  it  is  found 
that  type  differs  considerably  on  every  typewriter,  and 
eaeli  set  of  type  has  its  own  peculiarities.  With  the 


S4  PRACTICAL  INSTRUCTION  FOR  DETECTIVES 

assistance  of  an  able  typewriter  expert,  I  was  enabled 
during  the  course  of  one  year  to  clear  up  three  anony- 
mous letter  cases  wherein  the  letters  were  written  with 
a  typewriter. 

Thousands  of  letters  known  as  "black  hand"  let- 
ters are  mailed  and  sent  throughout  the  country,  the 
sending  of  which  offers  a  wide  field  for  investigation. 
" Black  Hand"  letters  are  by  no  means  all  sent  by 
Italians,  as  is  commonly  believed.  The  term  is  us- 
ually applied  to  letters  in  which  sums  of  money  are 
anonymously  demanded,  upon  threats  of  death,  torture 
or  punishment. 

"ROPING" 

The  term  "roping"  is  used  in  connection  with  de- 
tective work  to  express  cultivating  the  acquaintance 
of  a  criminal  or  other  person  for  the  purpose  of  learn- 
ing what  the  person  may  know  regarding  a  crime  or 
other  matter  about  which  it  may  be  desired  to  obtain 
information.  There  is  a  vast  lot  of  detective  work 
of  this  kind  done,  and  I  will  submit  a  few  cases,  since 
«very  detective  should  be  proficient  along  this  line. 

A  man  was  in  charge  of  the  supply  department  for 
a  large  corporation,  and  was  suspected  of  carrying  to 
his  home  such  articles  as  light  globes,  machinists'  tools, 
paint,  stamped  envelopes,  soap,  towels,  etc.  Being 
called  upon  to  verify  this,  I  detailed  a  female  detec- 
tive on  the  case,  who  succeeded  in  obtaining  lodging 
and  board  at  the  house,  and  in  two  weeks  she  had  seen 
and  brought  away  more  than  fifty  different  kinds  of 
articles  that  had  been  stolen  and  carried  home  by  this 
man. 

I  once  directed  the  investigation  of  an  $8,000.00 
jewel  theft  which  was  brought  to  a  successful  close  by 
liaving  a  negro  detective  ' '  rope ' '  a  negro  waiter.  The 


OTHER  KINDS  OF  DETECTIVE  WORK  85 

jewels  in  question  were  inadvertently  left  lying  on  a 
chair  in  a  cafe  by  a  well  known  actress,  and  they  were 
not  missed  until  the  following  morning.  Three  negro 
waiters  came  under  suspicion  and  finally  suspicion 
\\.is  narrowed  down  to  one  of  them,  who,  after  the 
theft,  kept  roving  from  city  to  city.  Although  he  was 
kept  under  close  surveillance  for  a  period  of  four 
months  he  was  never  seen  with  any  of  the  stolen 
jewels,  and  apparently  made  no  effort  to  dispose  of 
them.  The  suspect  finally  obtained  a  position  as 
waiter  in  a  fashionable  cafe  in  a  certain  large  city, 
when  I  arranged  for  a  similar  position  at  the  same 
cafe  for  a  negro  detective,  who  immediately  began 
cultivating  the  acquaintance  of  the  suspect.  After 
two  weeks  he  told  the  suspect  that  he  was  worried  over 
the  fear  of  arrest  for  having  stolen  some  jewelry  in 
another  city.  This  caused  the  suspect  to  feel  safe  in 
confiding  to  the  detective  the  fact  that  he  also  had 
stolen  some  jewels  and  was  worried  over  the  matter. 
On  a  certain  night  they  arranged  to  meet  at  the  sus- 
pect 's  room  to  show  each  other  their  stolen  jewels,  the 
detective  arranging  for  this  so  as  to  ascertain  where 
the  suspect  was  keeping  his.  The  suspect  was  ar- 
rested the  following  day,  and  at  his  room  practically 
all  of  the  stolen  jewels  were  recovered. 

I  have  handled  a  great  many  cases  wherein  the  ac- 
quaintance of  persons  holding  confidential  positions 
were  cultivated.  For  example,  men  who  employ  pri- 
vate secretaries  often  desire  to  know  if  the  secretary 
is  absolutely  reliable  and  trustworthy.  Whether  the 
secretary  be  man  or  woman,  "roping"  is  resorted  to, 
to  ascertain  if  such  persons  would  divulge  secrets  of 
their  employers.  "Roping"  of  this  class  of  people 
often  entails  great  expense  and  detective  work  of  a 
very  high  order.  I  have  handled  several  cases  wherein 


86  PRACTICAL,  INSTRUCTION  FOR  DETECTIVES 

it  was  necessary  to  have  the  detective,  in  order  to  get 
acquainted  in  a  natural  way,  join  the  same  church  and 
clubs  to  which  the  party  to  be  "roped"  belonged,  also 
furnished  the  detective  with  an  automobile  and  other 
things  so  as  to  keep  up  appearances,  and  apparently 
be  on  an  equal  footing  with  the  person  to  be  ' '  roped. ' ' 
Roping  is  very  frequently  resorted  to  in  damage 
cases,  also  in  theft  cases.  Many  fake  damage  suits  are 
brought  annually  against  street  railway  and  other 
transportation  companies.  While  such  suits  are  pend- 
ing it  is  a  good  plan  to  have  a  male  or  female  detective, 
as  circumstances  may  require,  get  acquainted  with, 
or  obtain  room  and  board  with  the  person  to  be 
" roped,"  and  which  usually  results  in  the  detective 
learning  the  extent  of  the  person's  injuries,  if  there 
be  any,  and  such  other  information  of  value  to  attor- 
neys defending  such  a  case. 

DETECTIVE   WORK    IN   WAREHOUSES 

As  previously  stated  herein,  every  owner  of  a  whole- 
sale house  or  warehouse  can  employ  detective  service 
with  profit,  also  packing  houses  and  similar  concerns. 
I  have  in  mind  a  certain  wholesale  drug  house  which 
employs  approximately  one  hundred  men  the  year 
round.  At  one  time  it  was  estimated  that  between  two 
and  three  hundred  dollars  worth  of  goods  were  stolen 
and  carried  off  per  month.  I  detailed  a  detective  to 
go  to  work  in  the  building  among  the  other  employees, 
and  at  the  end  of  four  weeks  the  detective's  reports 
showed  specific  .instances  of  stealing  on  the  part  of 
sixteen  employees.  The  detective  was  then  permitted 
to  discontinue,  and  I  took  these  sixteen  men  in  hand, 
one  after  another,  and  obtained  signed  confessions 
from  them  relative  to  their  stealings,  and  all  were  dis- 
charged. I  recall  that  one  of  these  men  admitted 


OTHEK  Kl.NiJS  OF  DETECTIVE  \VOKK  87 

stealing  and  carrying  off  seven  Gillette  safety  razors 
in  a  period  of  two  weeks.  Also  one  of  the  men  whom 
we  took  iii  charge,  as  he  was  about  to  quit  work  for 
the  day,  had  secreted  on  his  person  six  different  stolen 
articles. 

In  the  case  of  a  large  packing  house  it  was  found 
that  drivers  were  short  some  of  their  goods  upon  ar- 
riving at  depots,  claiming  that  the  missing  goods 
either  were  stolen  or  had  not  been  loaded  upon  their 
trucks.  They  made  these  trips  to  the  depots  between 
midnight  and  5  a.  m.  These  drivers  with  their  trucks 
were  shadowed,  when  it  was  found  that  each  had  along 
his  route  a  place  where  goods  were  unloaded  and  sold 
by  the  driver.  In  the  case  of  another  large  packing 
house  I  uncovered  thefts  of  butter  alone  amounting  to 
three  hundred  pounds  per  month. 

EXPRESS    COMPANIES 

Express  companies  are  large  employers  of  detective 
service,  because  the  temptation  to  steal  goods  while  in 
transit  is  very  strong  with  a  great  many  employees. 
By  detailing  secret  detectives  to  work  with  employees, 
both  in  the  depots  and  on  trains,  I  have  uncovered 
many  thefts.  I  once  obtained  a  confession  from  an 
express  messenger  who  admitted  having  stolen  in 
one  day  two  dressed  turkeys,  a  loin  of  pork,  two 
pounds  of  butter  and  a  quart  of  whiskey.  He  ad- 
mitted these  thefts  after  he  was  shown  that  his  helper 
in  the  express  car  was  a  secret  detective,  who  saw  him 
appropriate  the  articles. 

I  once  had  occasion  to  conduct  an  investigation  for 
an  express  company  regarding  the  theft  of  $1,500.00 
worth  of  unset  diamonds,  which  were  stolen  while  in 
transit.  In  the  course  of  three  weeks  the  thief  had 
not  been  detected,  and  the  nearest  that  responsibility 


88  PRACTICAL,  INSTRUCTION  FOR  DETECTIVES 

could  be  fixed  was  that  the  theft  was  committed  by 
one  of  three  persons.  A  ruse  was  then  resorted  to 
which  produced  results,  and  which  ruse  often  brings 
results  in  cases  of  theft  by  employees.  We  caused  it 
to  be  published  in  the  newspapers  that  after  several 
weeks  investigation  and  surveillance  we  had  learned 
the  identity  of  the  thief,  and  that  an  arrest  would 
positively  be  made  the  following  day.  This  had  the 
effect  of  causing  the  thief  to  believe  that  he  had 
actually  been  detected,  for  the  next  day  the  stolen  dia- 
monds were  delivered  to  the  company  by  mail.  The 
same  ruse,  applied  in  various  forms,  has  also  been  the 
means  of  obtaining  many  confessions  in  criminal  cases. 
Fear  of  arrest  and  conviction  often  leads  a  first  of- 
fender to  give  up  his  plunder,  and  the  successful  use 
of  this  ruse  is  a  matter  of  bringing  it  to  the  attention 
of  the  one  under  suspicion  in  the  most  forceful  way. 

On  behalf  of  an  express  company,  I  once  was  called 
upon  to  investigate  what  was  reported  to  be  a  burg- 
lary of  the  express  office  in  a  town  of  about  five 
thousand  population.  Upon  arrival  there  the  next 
day  I  found  that  the  front  window  of  the  office  was 
broken,  the  break  being  sufficiently  large  to  have  ad- 
mitted a  man's  body.  I  talked  with  the  agent  whose 
breath  indicated  to  me  that  he  had  been  intoxicated 
the  night  previous,  and  which  fact  he  admitted.  This 
agent  had  reported  to  his  superiors  that  upon  arrival 
at  the  office  that  morning  he  found  the  front  window 
broken,  that  the  safe  apparently  had  not  been  tam- 
pered with,  as  the  key  was  found  to  work  perfectly. 
Upon  opening  the  safe  he  found  that  two  hundred 
dollars  was  missing,  fifty  dollars  having  been  left  in 
the  safe  by  the  burglar,  according  to  his  statement. 
Nothing  else  around  the  office  was  stolen  or  tampered 
with.  In  less  than  five  minutes  after  arriving  there 


OTHER  KINDS  OF  DETECTIVE  WORK  89 

I  concluded  that  if  any  cash  had  been  stolen  the  agent 
himself  was  the  guilty  one.  From  a  boy  outside  I 
learned  that  the  window  became  broken  during  a  se- 
vere electrical  storm  the  previous  night,  which  placed 
the  town  in  darkness  for  several  hours  around  mid- 
night. An  overhead  sign  was  blown  down  and  crashed 
through  the  window.  Being  further  convinced  that 
the  agent  was  guilty  and  had  taken  advantage  of  these 
circumstances  to  report  a  burglary,  I  asked  the  agent 
if  he  had  ever  loaned  his  safe  key  to  anyone,  and  he 
replied  in  the  negative.  I  then  told  him  that  I  knew 
how  the  window  had  become  broken,  and  asked  him 
if  he  believed  it  logical  that  a  thief  would  take  the 
trouble  and  risk  arrest  by  having  a  suitable  key  made 
for  the  safe,  enter  the  building,  steal  two  hundred 
dollars  of  the  cash  and  leave  fifty  there.  I  told  him 
that  in  my  judgment  such  would  be  the  work  of  an 
employee  but  not  of  a  burglar.  The  agent  hung  his 
head  and  I  told  him  I  was  justified  in  having  him 
arrested  on  the  spot.  He  confessed  immediately,  less 
than  an  hour  after  my  arrival  upon  the  scene.  The 
facts  as  shown  in  this  incident  should  prove  of  much 
worth  to  the  experienced  or  inexperienced  detective. 

CONSPIRACIES 

The  disclosure  of  conspiracies  in  their  hundreds  of 
forms  offers  a  broad  field  for  the  detective.  Hun- 
dreds of  damage  suits  are  instituted  annually  through- 
out the  country  wherein  damages  claimed  to  have  been 
suffered  by  the  plaintiff  are  nothing  more  than  con- 
spiracies to  defraud.  The  field  for  such  investigation 
is  very  wide,  especially  as  it  applies  to  fake  bank- 
ruptcy cases  and  damage  cases  brought  by  persons 
against  railroad  and  street  railway  companies.  For 
example,  I  once  investigated  a  case  wherein  the  store 


.90  PRACTICAL,  INSTRUCTION  FOR  DETECTIVES 

of  a  certain  jewelry  firm  was  destroyed  by  fire.  Later 
they  claimed  that  during  the  excitement  of  the  fire 
some  $20,OOQ.OO  worth  of  diamonds  were  stolen  from 
the  premises  by  some  person  unknown.  The  creditors 
were  loath  to  believe  this  and  had  an  investigation 
made  which  developed  that  the  diamonds  in  question 
had  not  been  stolen,  but  were  removed  from  the  store 
by  the  owners  previous  to  the  fire,  and  that  the  fire 
itself  no  doubt  was  a  part  of  the  plan  to  defraud  cred- 
itors. 

Railroad  companies  suffer  tremendously  as  a  result 
of  conspiracies,  of  which  the  following  is  an  example, 
and  which  case  I  personally  directed :  A  new  railroad 
was  constructed  through  a  certain  fanning  district, 
for  a  distance  of  perhaps  fifteen  miles.  Before  the  ad- 
vent of  the  railroad  none  of  this  farming  land  had 
ever  been  valued  at  more  than  twenty-five  dollars  per 
acre.  Practically  all  the  farmers  along  the  line  of  the 
railroad  claimed  damages  up  to  a  hundred  dollars  per 
acre.  The  cases  were  decided  in  the  courts,  upon  the 
opinions  of  viewers  who  were  appointed  by  the  court, 
and  which  body  of  viewers  was  composed  of  disinter- 
ested farmers  of  the  same  county. 

After  the  railroad  company  had  been  compelled  to 
pay  two  or  three  excessive  claims,  it  looked  about  for 
relief,  it  having  suspected  right  along  that  a  con- 
spiracy existed  among  the  farmers  and  viewers  to 
claim  and  recommend  such  excessive  damages.  After 
three  cases  had  been  decided  against  the  railroad  com- 
pany, I  detailed  two  detectives  to  visit  these  farmers. 
and  who  pretended  to  have  been  sent  by  a  number 
of  farmers  of  a  far  distant  county,  who  also  proposed 
bringing  damage  suits  against  a  new  railroad  com- 
pany; that  they  had  heard  of  the  success  these  farmers 


OTHER  KINDS  OF  DETECTIVE  WORK  91 

were  having  with  their  suits,  and  that  it  was  desired 
to  know  along  just  what  lines  they  were  proceeding. 
The  two  detectives  also  advised  the  ring  leaders  that 
they  did  not  want  the  information  gratis,  and  if  given 
assistance  were  authorized  to  pay  a  certain  percentage 
of  all  damages  secured  in  the  distant  county.  The 
result  was  these  farmers  then  unsuspectingly  told  the 
detectives  how  they  had  all  met  and  agreed  to  claim 
certain  amounts  of  damages,  and  how  they  had  even 
-o  far  as  to  hold  mock  trials  at  several  of  the 
farmers'  homes,  so  that  all  concerned  would  be  pro- 
perly coached  when  the  time  came  to  go  into  court. 
At  these  mock  trials  one  farmer  would  pose  as  plain- 
tiff, while  another  would  pose  as  the  railroad  com- 
pany's attorney,  when  questions  were  asked,  and  an- 
swers agreed  upon,  as  was  anticipated  would  come 
out  at  the  real  trials  or  hearings.  Needless  to  state, 
that  after  corroborative  evidence  of  this  conspiracy 
was  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  railroad  company's 
attorney,  no  more  excessive  damages  were  paid,  and  I 
later  had  the  pleasure  of  being  advised  that  this  bit 
of  detective  work  saved  the  railroad  company  fully 
forty  thousand  dollars. 

As  to  how  creditors  are  defrauded  in  hundreds  of 
instances,  the  following  is  a  fair  example:  A  retail 
shoe  dealer  in  a  middle  western  state  went  into  bank- 
ruptcy owing  several  eastern  jobbers  several  thousand 
dollars.  Examination  of  the  dealers'  stock  and  records 
of  sales  for  several  months  developed  the  fact  that 
two  or  three  thousand  dollars  worth  of  shoes  pur- 
chased from  the  eastern  jobbers  evidently  had  never 
entered  the  dealer's  place  of  business.  It  was  sus- 
pected that  the  merchandise  was  concealed  or  had 
been  secretly  disposed  of  by  the  dealer.  I  directed  an 


92  PRACTICAL.  INSTRUCTION  FOR  DETECTIVES 

investigation  which  resulted  in  locating  the  goods  in 
another  city,  the  investigation  having  been  conducted 
along  the  following  lines: 

Information  as  to  the  road  over  which  the  goods 
were  shipped,  together  with  dates,  weights  and  car 
numbers  was  first  obtained  from  the  shippers.  The 
drayage  company  on  the  dealer's  end  was  then  seen, 
after  which  drivers  for  the  drayage  company  were  in- 
terviewed, and  which  developed  information  that  the 
missing  goods  had  never  been  delivered  to  the  dealer 's 
place  of  business,  but  instead  were  moved  from  one 
depot  to  another  and  promptly  re-shipped  to  another 
city.  The  same  plan  was  then  followed  in  that  city 
with  the  drayage  companies  and  the  goods  easily 
located,  and  which  were  promptly  attached  by  the 
creditors. 

In  another  case  an  Italian  fruit  jobber  once  received 
three  carloads  of  fruit,  and  after  disposing  of  same  left 
suddenly  for  parts  unknown,  without  remitting  to,  or 
paying  the  shippers.  I  was  called  into  this  case,  and 
I  promptly  directed  that  the  Italian's  wife  and  chil- 
dren be  placed  under  close  surveillance.  In  about  a 
week  the  wife  and  children  packed  up  their  house- 
hold goods  and  had  the  same  shipped  to  a  city  some 
three  hundred  miles  distant.  The  household  goods 
were  then  watched  closely  after  being  unloaded  in  the 
freight  depot  at  the  point  of  destination.  Three  days 
later  the  goods  were  removed  from  the  depot  and  taken 
to  the  home  of  an  Italian,  whose  house  was  then  kept 
under  surveillance,  but  no  trace  could  be  seen  of  the 
fugitive.  At  the  end  of  a  week  the  household  goods 
were  again  taken  out,  hauled  to  a  depot  and  reshipped 
to  a  small  town  a  hundred  miles  away.  I  recall  hav- 
ing personally  examined  the  shipping  tags  attached 
to  the  goods  upon  this  occasion,  which  gave  us  the 


KIM •>  in-   I.KTI-XTIVK  WORK  93 

•  of  the  final  destination  of  the  household  goods, 
and  which  address,  a  few  days  later,  enabled  us  to 
cause  the  arrest  of  the  fugitive. 

TESTING    RETAIL   BUSINESS   ESTABLISHMENTS 

The  making  of  test  purchases  in  retail  stores  is  I 
done  very  extensively,  and  for  which  work  detectives 
are  employed.  Taking  for  example  a  high  class  con- 
fectionery stuiv,  drug  store  or  cigar  store.  The  pro- 
prietor may  not  come  to  his  place  of  business  until 
late  in  the  morning,  or  may  be  away  for  perhaps  a 
week.  He  desires  to  know  if  his  sales  clerks  are  hon- 
est and  reliable,  and  courteous  to  customers  during 
his  absence  from  the  place  of  business.  The  detec- 
tive retained  for  this  purpose  enters  the  store  one, 
two  or  three  times  a  day  and  makes  purchases  the 
same  as  any  other  customer  would,  and  while  in  the 
place  makes  careful  note  of  the  kind  of  treatment  ac- 
corded him  by  the  sales  clerk,  and  in  particular  notes 
if  the  amount  of  his  purchase  is  properly  rung  up 
on  the  cash  register,  with  which  most  retail  business 
establishments  are  now  equipped.  Owners  of  depart- 
ment stores  and  of  saloons  spend  thousands  of  dollars 
annually  for  detective  work  of  this  kind. 

DIVORCE  CASES 

As  everyone  knows,  thousands  of  divorce  actions 
are  brought  every  year  throughout  the  country  and 
many  detectives  find  employment  in  connection  with 
such  cases.  The  custom  is  that  when  the  husband,  for 
instance,  suspects  his  wife  of  infidelity,  he  has  her 
pla.-.-d  under  surveillance  for  a  month  or  so,  which 
usually  develops  whether  or  not  his  suspicions  are  well 
founded.  However,  information  and  corroborative 


94  PRACTICAL,  INSTRUCTION  FOR  DETECTIVES 

evidence  is  obtained  by  the  husband,  or  by  the  wife, 
as  the  case  may  be,  in  a  hundred  other  ways.  While 
detective  work  of  this  nature  has  no  doubt  always 
been  profitable  to  detectives,  my  opinion  is  that  it  has 
never  been  any  too  creditable,  and  my  advice  to  the 
detective  is  to  keep  as  clear  of  this  kind  of  work  as 
possible,  because  such  cases  require  skillful  work  and 
handling,  and  often  when  handled  successfully,  the 
results  do  not  offset  the  undesirable  notoriety  that  may 
be  given  the  detective. 

ARSON 

As  is  quite  well  known,  the  fire  losses  in  the  United 
States  run  annually  into  millions  of  dollars,  and  if 
one  would  take  the  trouble  to  have  half  an  hour's 
talk  with  any  fire  insurance  expert  it  will  be  found 
that  a  surprisingly  large  percentage  of  fires  are  no 
doubt  the  results  of  schemes  to  defraud  fire  insurance 
companies.  Much  detective  work  is  directed  in  an 
effort  to  lessen  these  losses,  and  to  bring  about  the 
arrest  and  conviction  of  the  offenders,  but  my  knowl- 
edge of  conditions  is  that  the  crime  of  arson  contin- 
ues on  the  increase  rather  than  on  the  decrease. 

Life  and  accident  insurance  companies  throughout 
the  country  employ  hundreds  of  detectives  the  year 
round  to  investigate  risks  and  fraudulent  claims. 
Many  individuals  somewhere  daily  place  in  the  hands 
of  private 'detectives,  various  kinds  of  cases  to  be  in- 
vestigated, and  in  conclusion  I  will  say  that  when  a 
case  is  submitted  to  the  detective  for  investigation  it 
should  be  made  the  subject  of  careful .  thought  and 
consideration.  As  a  rule,  every  case  differs  in  some 
way,  but  if  good  common  sense  methods  are  applied, 
results  can  be  secured,  no  matter  how  difficult  or  how 
complicated  the  case  may  be  at  the  start. 


FINGER   PRINTS 
SIMPLIFIED 

A  New  Handbook  of  the  Science  of  Finger  Print 
Identification 


By  JAMES  HOLT 

CONTENTS 


The  Uses  of  Finger  Prints :— Banking— Military  Uses-* 
Family  Records— Loss  of  Identity— Criminal  Work— • 
opportunities  for  Students. 

II  Finger  Print  Future :— The  Pro- 
bationary Period— Check  Pro- 
tection —  Pensions  —  Wills  — 
Business  Identification — Crim- 
inal Identification  —  Offsetting 
Circumstantial  Evidence. 


g  FINGERPRINTS 
SIMPLIFIED 


JAMES  HOLT 


III  Making     and     Reading     Finger 

Prints :— Types  of  Prints— Ar- 
ticles Needed— How  to  Take 
Prints— Ridges  and  Depres- 
sions —  Types  or  Patterns  — 
Type  Distribution — Care  in 
Taking  Prints— Symbols  Used 
in  Finger  Prints. 

IV  Classification  of  Finger  Prints  :— 

How  to  Produce  Formulas- 
Method  of  Forming  Primary  Classification — Sub- 
Classification  —  Lettered  Formula  —  Classification 
Rules — Second  Sub-Classification — Final  Classification 
—Classifying  Broken  Sets — Ring  Finger  Count. 

V     Filing,   Searching    and   Comparing :— Order   of   Filing- 
Searching  Files. 

VI     Review  Questions  and  Answers. 

FULLY  ILLUSTRATED 
Cloth    mndlnu.     1S5   I'.-m.  ,.  Price,    postpaid,    $1.25 

FREDERICK  J.  DRAKE  &  CO.,  Publishers 


CHICAGO 


University  of  California 

SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 

Return  this  material  to  the  library 

from  which  it  was  borrowed. 


RECTO  LD-URC 

JUN151988 


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